Fallout 4 - Survivor's Guilt
by AzzyG367
Summary: When the Sole Survivor of Vault 111 loses everything they love, and are thrown head first into a completely different world, how will they cope ? Who will they befriend ? Will they find Shaun ? Or would this new world consume them.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Fallout 4: Prologue**

 ** _"War. War never changes..._**

 ** _In the year 1945, my great-great grandfather, serving in the army, wondered when he'd get to go home to his wife and the son he'd never seen. He got his wish when the US ended World War II by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki._**

 ** _The World awaited Armageddon, instead, something miraculous happened. We began to use atomic energy not as a weapon, but as a nearly limitless source of power._**

 ** _People enjoyed luxuries once thought the realm of science fiction. Domestic robots, fusion-powered cars, portable computers. But then, in the 21st century, people awoke from the American dream._**

 ** _Years of consumption lead to shortages of every major resource. The entire world unravelled. Peace became a distant memory. It is now the year 2077. We stand on the brink of total war, and I am afraid. For myself, for my wife, for my infant son - because if my time in the army taught me one thing:_**

 ** _It's that War, war never changes..."_**

* * *

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Sanctuary Hills. The sun was shining bright, the blue sky was clear of clouds, the birds were singing away, and despite the constant threat of the war reaching Boston, everything was peaceful and...perfect.

* * *

2076, Anchorage, Alaska...

 _"Colonel! Colonel, watch out! You've got more Reds advancing at your Nine o'clock!" a voice shouted._

 _"I see 'em! But i'm down to my last two mags! You got any extra mags that you can spare, Captain ?" Nate shouted back, popping up from his cover to fire out the window at the closing-in Chinese forces._

 _Nate and the Captain were pinned down by enemy fire in a mostly destroyed building, with their only way out of it blocked by the advancing Chinese forces._

 _"I think we have something better for you, Colonel." a new voice called out from behind._

 _Nate was startled, and spun around in an instant to meet the voice._

 _"Jesus Christ, Monty!" He yelled "-You trying to kill me before the Reds do ?! You gave me a goddamn heart attack!" Nate joked, seeing his close friend - Sergeant Benjamin Montgomery and two other soldiers now standing in the building with them. All of them members of 'Strike Team Alpha' that'd been previously separated._

 _"Hah-hah! Sorry Johnny! It wasn't our intention on coming in through here, we were attacking the Abandoned Mining Town like we'd planned, but some Reds reinforcements forced us this way. But hell, i sure am glad we were pushed this way now."_

 _"Well...Well how exactly **did** you get in here ? I didn't notice any other entrances when he got forced in here before!" Nate replied, motioning between himself and the Captain._

 _"There's a pretty large gap in the ceiling upstairs, don't know if you've noticed. When we got here we climbed the wall outside and vaulted over the gap to get in here. Now, i recommend you take this bad boy instead of your almost empty 'AR' there!" Montgomery said, un-holstering a Gauss Rifle from his back and handing it over to Nate, and handing the Captain an armor-piercing Sniper rifle._

 _"I meant to return this to you earlier, after we destroyed those artillery guns up in the hills together. But, well...i **guess** i may have gotten a bit too attached to her, hah! Here take her back, and be good to her, y'hear? You treat her well, and she'll treat you the same." Montgomery joked._

 _"Excellent. Thanks Benji. Alright, Captain - I want you upstairs with 'Rocket Man'. Surprise those Reds by killing as many as you can, and keep the rest from closing in on our position! The rest of you will stick with me. So pick a window...take whichever one looks the nicest to you, so long as you can help push back the Reds i don't care which one you take, just make it count. Alright, Strike Team, we have our target in sight, so lets help our boys out and go kick some Commie ass!"_

* * *

Nate lay cuddled up in bed, fast asleep, with his Wife of ten years, Nora.

One lay on their back snoring, and the other lay face down drooling, something they often joked about.

There was a sudden jolt of movement in the bed, which was enough to awaken Nora, her eyes opened and rose her head up, cursing to herself as she wiped her drool from her face and pillow. She lazily looked up to scan her sleeping husband for any of the usual signs she knew by now to look for. When nothing concerning happened she just shrugged, closed her eyes again and cuddled into her Husband's side.

A few minutes of peacefulness passed and then there was a jolt again suddenly. This time when Nora scanned her husband, she saw that Nate's eyelids were flickering erratically and his breathing had began to quickly grow more and more rapid.

She placed her palm against his chest, concerned yet waiting to see if he'd wake up from this on his own first.

"Hon ?"

There was no reply, but he had started to gradually look more and more uncomfortable in his sleep.

"Nate ?"

* * *

 ** _Later that day..._**

 _" **OH SHIT!** **MONTGOMERY** , **LOOK OUT!** **Shit!** Hey, keep your fucking head down man, or you'll lose it! **Jackson!** We got four of the Commie bastards advancing on us! Throw any grenades you have, or blind fire at them, but don't try and be a hero and get yourself killed, yeah! **Williams!** What i need is...Wuh ?! Shi- **ANDERSON!** I ordered you to stay laid down man! You're already wounded badly enough! If you move too much that wound will open right up again, and it'll need another Stimpak to close it, and we're all down to our last two Stimpak! So do as i say and stay down, that's an order goddammit!"_

 _'Strike Squad Alpha' were fighting exceptionally well, despite the odds. But they were surrounded on both sides by overwhelming Chinese forces. They were losing this fight._

 _Despite all the noise of gunfire all around their current position, Nate could've swore he just heard a loud 'Thump!' noise close to him. He paid it no mind until he had to rest on his back to reload, and then discovered a painful and frightening sight. They'd just lost Jackson._

 _Nate was so shocked and angered that he let out a loud scream as he turned back and returned fire, managing to kill three more advancing Reds in quick succession despite the tears that were starting to blur his vision._

 _..._

 _All of Strike Squad Alpha continued to fight back relentlessly, now even those who'd taken serious injuries. They were the best of the best out of all the american forces stationed here, that's why they'd been given the toughest missions to complete._

 _They'd already taken down a Listening Post guarded by Invisible Snipers, that had skilled swordsmen, apparently named "Dragoons Spies" wearing stealth suits which turned them invisible stalking them on the inside._

 _Nate and Benjamin had taken out three artillery guns up in the mountains guarded by brutes utilising Flame-Throwers._

 _And just recently, they had blown up Fuel Tanks guarded by highly-advanced "Chimera" Tanks, which had been a difficult task indeed. Even on their way there they had been relentlessly attacked by these strange "Spider-Drones" - special attacking machines made by the Reds._

 _The Squad had been on their way to the trenches to fight their way to the Pulse Field and disable it, so that they could attack the Refinery the Chinese were using as their HQ. But they were ambushed and attacked by a heavy number of Reds. They had become pinned down in this crater and one by one had been wounded._

 _..._

 _Between them all, they managed to kill or fatally injure at least half of the advancing Reds surrounding them despite the hailstorm of bullets that had them pinned them down in that spot._

 _Nate was sweating such an immense amount that he felt sick, his back was screaming in pain, his arms and sides had been grazed by a few bullets already, and more than anything he was just utterly physically and mentally exhausted._

 _And then...as if their luck wasn't bad enough already, a grenade landed right smack in the middle of the crater the Squad were stuck in._

 _" **SHIT!** **GRENAAAADE!"** Montgomery screamed._

 _Nate was about to dart over to grab it and toss it back. But someone else reacted quicker._

 _ **Anderson** , who was sat right next to where the grenade landed, without a second thought rolled over and threw himself on top of the grenade. He curled himself up tight and closed his eyes shut tight. But not before speaking his last words._

 _"Been a p- a pleasure, guys..." he coughed out._

 _" **ANDERSOOOON!** " Everyone else shouted in unison._

 _..._

 ** _*KA-BOOM!*_**

* * *

"Hon? Honey ?! Nathan ?!"

Nate suddenly bolted upright, letting out a loud gasp, and a dry throat caused him to start coughing pretty badly. He quickly realised that he was soaked in his sweat and that his breathing was rapid and heavy...again.

"Nathan ? Honey, you okay ?!" Nora asked, concern evident in her tone.

Nate turned and looked at her, but didn't say a word.

Nora already knew what he'd just experienced and was there to comfort him and give him support. - "Hey...hey, honey. It's okay...it's okay." Nora told him, taking great care with her tone, and making sure to remind him that he was safe again and back here with her, as she wrapped her hands around his head and gently pulled him against her body into a warm hug to comfort him.

"Nora..." Nate whispered against her skin.

Nate slowly managed to calm his breathing down, letting it return to normal. When Nora let him free from her loving, supportive hug, Nate broke his gaze immediately and just started looked down, and started wiping his face.

"Same one again, hon ?" She asked softly.

Nate nodded faintly. "Yeah. It...it happened again, Nora. I just...i can't seem to stop having that same nightmare. I keep seeing that memory repeat itself...over and over, and over again. I...can't get the sight of their faces in their last moments, or the last words that they said to me...i just...i can't get them to stop haunting me!" Nate told her, forcing himself to hold back tears, even though his voice had already broke once already as he was speaking.

"Hon...I'm so sorry you're still having to go through all of this. But...unfortunately, the most tragic moments in life seem to stick with a person forever...and nothing i say can make it stop haunting you. And god I wish i could make it go away for you..."

"I know you do...huh, me too. It's just...i keep seeing them, Nora. My Squad. My Brothers and Sister in arms, my...the best friends that i ever had. And now the only clear memory i have of them is to see them killed ov-" Nate choked on his words and cleared his throat before he started over again.

"I keep seeing us surrounded by the Reds, and i see them getting killed over and over again...and...God, i just couldn't save them, i could never save them...And all i can think about is how i'm alive and they're dead, and that's not fair! I-I tried so hard, but they...God! It should've been **ME** , not **THEM!** " Nate admitted, raising his voice enough to showcase his disappointment in his actions in the past, and mainly about how he felt he wasn't a good enough friend or soldier, and had failed them.

Nora gasped slightly at his revelation, and quickly, but gently, grabbed his chin and brought his eyes up to meet hers, telling him -

"No. Honey, stop saying these mean things about yourself, you can't think like that. Ever. Nate, you know deep down that it wasn't your fault, okay ? They _chose_ to follow you into that battlefield, you never forced them to. They chose to fight alongside their friend, because like you they cared a great deal about their fellow soldier, okay ? And they never would've let you go out there all alone. So please hon, for them _and_ for me...please don't keep blaming yourself for their deaths, because i know for a fact that they wouldn't." Nora said, giving her hubby a small smile.

A tear ran down Nate's cheek which Nora quickly wiped away.

And despite his tears...he still managed to give her a smile back.

"Ah...God, oh what would i be without you, huh darling ? God, I love you so much." Nate told her, feeling much better now.

Nora smiled at him and they cuddled each other again. Without another word spoken, the two just lay back into down against the mattress and Nate wrapped his arms around her. Using this time now to get his mind off of...that nightmare, and to cheer up and be his usual self again.

They stayed like that for atleast ten minutes afterwards, just resting in silence until Nora randomly brought up a new subject.

"So, today's the big day!" She said in almost a singing-like voice, as she rolled over and looked up at him. "You nervous about it ?"

Nate took a moment to answer. "Yeah, i kinda am...i've _never_ liked speeches. And, uh...well, imagining them all in their underwear certainly doesn't help." Nate said chuckling at the joke, getting a cute giggle out of Nora.

Looking up at the alarm clock atop their bed, Nate noticed the time. It was (08:59). Nora looked over at the windows, reminding herself of the daily task of opening the blinds when they were dressed, but ended up noticed their camera sat on the dresser next to the window. "Ooh. Remember, we really need to get those vacation photos developed."

"Definitely. I'm taking a mental note now. I'm sure we'll get around to it eventually." Nate joked again.

The two of them were then distracted from their individual thoughts by the familiar sound of a small thruster coming to life, followed by some mechanical whirring.

"Ah, that'll be Codsworth powering up for the day then." Nate said, in a now more relaxed tone, as he started to stretch out his legs.

"I think Shaun's still fast asleep though. Hmm. So what d'you think hon...another hour in bed, _or_ a _shared shower with yours truly ?_ " Nora asked in a suggestive, sexual tone she put on just for the hell of it.

"Ooh..my, now that's a tough call. Bed, or Boobs ? Hmm, well...i think i'd be quite stupid to turn down an offer of a warm morning shower with a lady as lovely as you." Nate replied in a equally playful tone.

"Mmm, I like your thinking mister!" Nora replied, as she 'Booped' his nose and they shared a kiss.

Nate chuckled during their kiss and had to explain why. "Mmm, but uh...i think we might scar Codsworth for life if he sees us jump rooms like...well, _this_. Y'know, given that we aren't actually, um... _wearing anything_ under these sheets...and well, y'know i can't see the appeal in getting dressed for all of ten seconds before i need to de-robe again anyway." Nate joked.

"Um, well whose idea was that for us to ditch our clothes in the hallway last night ?" Nora asked poking Nate's chest with her index finger, and acting like the innocent one.

Nate's only response was a lengthy pause.

"Um...Mine." Nate finally admitted, saying it somewhat quietly.

"Mmm-Hmm. Well anyway if we get up and move quickly we'll be in the bathroom before he's even left his room. But besides, even if he does see, we'll just explain that it'll save more water this way, right ? Now c'mon, you big chicken." Nora joked as she climbed up out of bed. The bed covers naturally fell down off of her body, revealing her exposed backside.

As she strutted around the bed and over to the door Nate, playfully but lightly, leapt forward and smacked her bare ass.

Nora just giggled to herself happily at his change in mood and his sudden playfulness. Giggling all the more when Nate quickly rose out of bed after her and bear hugged her from behind.

As they left their room they made sure that Codsworth was still inside his room first before they quickly popped their heads into Shaun's room to check on him. The little boy was still sound asleep, and after giving each other an 'aww' look they quickly darted into the bathroom together, making sure the door was closed.

They immediately hopped in the shower and closed the curtain behind them. Nate turned on the shower and Nora shrieked when she felt cold water hit her bare skin.

She looked at her husband, mouth agape along with a serious expression that told him he'd regret that. And he did when she smacked him somewhere...sensitive.

They both just laughed it off though.

Nora began to run her hands through her hair, wetting it and then grabbing the soap from it's dispenser. As she began to start cleaning herself with it Nate gave her another big bear hug from behind. And as he rested his chin on her shoulder he looked down and couldn't resist giving her heavy breasts a quick little jiggle around.

But then an idea formed in his mind...and he smirked at the thought.

Nate let her wash herself for some time before he put his dastardly plan into motion.

As she continued to wash herself with the soap, he quickly jerked Nora's elbow forward and watched as the soap sprang out of her hand and hit the deck. He faked a shocked gasp and asked her "Oh dear. Why, did you just drop the soap ?"

"Haha. Funny..." she replied as she bent over to pick it up, giving her husband a nice view of her large round behind.

Nate whistled and said. "Just look at that big beautiful bosom! It's like it just wants attention."

Nora laughed away - "Oh, Nate. Hahah, never change, honey."

He laugh along with her and connected his hands with hers, and grabbed the soap from her, now turning around to start washing himself.

As he did so now he felt a chin rest on his shoulder and arms wrap around his waist, and then he felt two very large breasts press up against his back and squash themselves up against his skin, like huge pancakes.

Nate turned back around and found Nora grinning at him, and biting her lip...and dear god, he loved seeing her do that.

* * *

 _20 minutes later..._

The couple hopped out the shower, dried themselves off, walked back into their room a minute or two apart, and got dressed for the day.

...

Nate dressed himself in a white t-shirt, with beige trousers. He strapped on his 'designer' silver watch and put on his best dress shoes.

Whilst Nora with her hair still held up and covered up in a towel was now wearing a teal t-shirt with beige and grey checkered trousers, along with her brand new white designer shoes. She even wore her brand new pearl necklace, to add to the look.

...

The sound of the Sports TV channel came from the living room, along with faint humming and the sound of a buzz saw coming from the back garden. "Must be Codsworth trimming the hedges or something." Nora though to herself.

They both went back into the bathroom, and they both slipped their wedding rings back on. Nora let her hair down, and Nate wiped down the steamy mirror and took a look at himself.

 _Nate had chestnut brown Casual Kempt hair, average dark eyebrows and a small beard that he felt he should shave for tonight. He had green aqua eyes, pale skin and was of a very muscular build, and he had a fair few scars - there was a long scar going down across his right brow, a small scar down the left side of his lips, and two small scars on his chin. He also had three small skull tattoos on the left side of his neck._

As Nate began to shave his beard Nora wrapped her arms around Nate's stomach from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder again, asking him -

"So, have you practised your speech for tonight ?"

"War never changes..." he said in response, over-thinking again about how tonight was the big night he'd been silently dreading.

"You're gonna knock 'em dead at the Veteran's Hall tonight hun, don't worry." Nora said

Nate couldn't help the smile that formed on his face, so he asked her. "You think ?"

"Absolutely!" She said with that encouraging smile of hers.

He loved that about her, how easily she could push his fears and worries away with a few words or a reassuring smile. She always found a way to make any situation easier to deal with.

"-now once you've shaved the rest of your beard go get ready and quit hogging the mirror, you. I need to do my make-up." Nora replied

Nate laughed and countered, "Aw, but you look fine no matter what, sweetheart."

"Aww, thanks hon...But i still need to use it." she laughed

"Right." he said.

Once he was completely clean shaven he left the bathroom.

 **(This description of Nora takes place for 10 minutes, so that it doesn't seem like she does it in a flash)**

Nora looked in the mirror at herself, "Right, time to tidy myself up." _Nora currently had the 'No Apologies' hairstyle going on, as last night it had been in the 'Agent X' style for a party her and Nate had attended, Nora brushed her hair and fixed it up, and it was now back to it's normal 'Elegant' style, until yesterday afternoon Nora's hair had always been a natural cool brown colour, but she now had her hair dyed chestnut brown, and she liked it!_

 _She has a hourglass body type, with large 34F sized breasts, a big round derriere, and pale skin like her husband, and the best part ? She didn't even need any of those **or** any make-up to look beautiful! Nate had been more than lucky to end up with this absolute goddess._

 _Nora had big pale blue eyes and thin arched eyebrows. When she finished brushing her hair, Nora applied her make-up (Which consisted of - Colourful Red lipstick, Black eye liner 3 and eye liner lower 1, and pink rosy cheeks)_

...

Nate walked back into their room, switched on the radio to his favourite station, and pocketed his wallet and his car keys for later, they needed some more food for next week after all. Infact he was pretty sure Nora had put a shopping note up on the fridge of what they needed.

He looked at the golden watch on the dresser that his father had given him when he'd came back from Anchorage, it was a family heirloom that'd been passed down through every generation, and now it was his. It lay next to his miniature american flag and he smiled at the sights. God, he loved that watch.

Walking over to the wardrobe, Nate opened up the wardrobe doors and unlocked the metal box on the floor. Inside was momentos from his time in the army. He looked at his Army Fatigues and Army Helmet that he'd used in many battles, which he'd kept in the best condition he could. He also had a look at his Green Army Service outfit and Jacket, complete with his Veteran's medals he'd been awarded, his Green Army Beret, and his other War-time outfits from his last year and a half in the Army **(Operation Anchorage outfit & Live Action Intro outfit)**, and a few pictures of him, his friends and Strike Squad Alpha. He took a moment before he locked the crate up again and left the room.

Nate walked by the bathroom and noticed that Nora was still busy applying her make-up.

Walking through into the lounge Nate saw Codsworth, who was busy preparing their breakfast. He'd already made scrambled eggs with salmon, prepared on a plate sat on the island ready for Nora, and was currently busy preparing Nate's.

One of Codsworth's eyes was fixed on the stove where he was frying some bacon and two eggs, as well as cooking some sausages in the oven. Another eye was watching the kettle sitting on the hot plate, and the last one was watching the sink fill up with water.

Hearing the footsteps, Codsworth turned the closest eye stalk around to see Nate. "Ah! Good morning Sir!" He cheerfully exclaimed at the sight of his master. He turned off the tap, and lifted the kettle from it's hot plate to fill Nate's coffee cup for him. "173.5 degrees Fahrenheit, brewed to perfection! And today's paper, just delivered!"

"Thanks, Codsworth, and good morning to you too!" Nate said, taking a drink of his freshly made coffee.

"Of course, Sir!" Codsworth replied

"Mmm! Codsworth, this coffee is amazing as always, buddy!" Nate said, complimenting him for the heavenly drink.

"How glad i am you like it, Sir! I also took the liberty of pre-selecting the next issue of Grognak the Barbarian for you Sir!"

Nate walked closer to see what issue exactly he had left out for him, reading the title: "Ooh! Grognak the Barbarian: And the Jungle of the Bat Babies! One of my Favourites! Thanks once again!"

Codsworth turned a dial on the stove, switching it off. He then expertly laid the food out on an awaiting plate, and then pulled the sausages from the oven and did the same with them, placing the plate next to Nora's on the island, ready for them both to tuck into.

"Oh, by the way Sir, i took the liberty of trimming the hedges in the back garden whilst you and the missus took your morning showers!" Codsworth then said, before he started washing the dishes.

"Ah, excellent Codsworth! What would we do without you!"

He sat down on the stool closest to him and took another sip of his coffee, and began flicking through the pages of the comic.

A few minutes later he heard footsteps behind him.

"Ah! Good morning, mum!" Codsworth said, filling up a cup of coffee for her too.

"Good morning, Codsworth!" Nora replied cheerfully, taking a sip of her coffee and sitting down on the stool next to Nate.

"Waaaaaaah!"

"Ah, sounds like someone made a stinky! I shall attend to young Shaun!" Codsworth announced, before he hovered away down the hallway to Shaun's room, humming a song the whole way.

The couple shared a chuckle at the sight. "Y'know i was nervous at first, but Codsworth's really good with Shaun!" Nora said, starting to read the day's newspaper.

Nate agreed with that - "He is, isn't he!"

The couple sat and read their comic book and newspaper respectively, and drank their coffee until Nora randomly said "Can't believe it's almost Halloween! Ooh! That reminds me, i need to finish making Shaun's costume!"

"Yeah, he'll look adorable in it, hahah! Oh, by the way i think we should go and get Codsworth serviced next week, what do you think ?" Nate asked

"Probably a good idea, just incase." Nora agreed

Once they were both finished with their reading and drinking. Nate put both their cups in the sink and looked out the side door at their car.

"Hmm, should probably work on keeping that beauty in top condition with Codsworth after i get back with our groceries later." Nate thought to himself

Nate walked over to the holotape player and reminisced. "Ah, bunch of our old holotape recordings..."

They both sat down on the couch to watch TV, yet Nora took a moment to look behind them at all the items sitting on the shelf behind them. First she looked over at her Law Diploma, thinking to herself - "Lot of late nights, but it was worth it."

Then she noticed a picture of Nate and his friends, back when they were in Anchorage..."Poor Nate..." she then thought

Finally, she looked at the rest of the items, like their large book collections: Nate's comic books, her cooking books, their large family photo collection album, and other items like Nate's Dog Tags, Nora's graduation hat, and a few vases from her mother.

She was about to say something to Nate when...

 ** _*ding dong*_**

"Oh, Can you get that, hon ? It's probably that salesman again. He comes for you every day." she said

"yeah, course. Lets see what he's saying." Nate replied as he vaulted over the back of the couch and opened the door.

"Good morning! Vault-Tec calling!" the salesman said, cheerfully.

"Good morning." Nate replied with a smile

"Isn't it just! Just look at that beautiful sky out there!" the salesman said before clearing his throat. "You can't begin to know how happy i am to finally speak with you! I've been trying for days, but it's of the upmost importance, i assure you, Sir!" he said

"Well, then i'm glad you're here!" Nate replied

"That's the spirit Sir! Now, i know your a busy fellow, so i won't take up much of your time. Time being, a...um, a precious commodity. I'm here today to tell you that because of your family's service to our country, that you have been pre-selected for entrance into the local vault! Vault...111!

"Okay, but there's room for my entire family, right ?" Nate asked, as Nora got up and walked up behind him, smiling politely at the Vault-Tec Rep

"Of course, of course! Minus your robot, naturally, in fact, you're already cleared for entrance. It's just a matter of verifying some personal information. Don't want there to be any hold ups, in the unforeseen event of _*ahem*_ total atomic annihilation. Won't take but a moment." he said

"Sure, let's do it then!" Nate replied

"Splendid, splendid! Now, let's see..." The Vault-Tec Rep said as he handed Nate his clipboard and pencil and Nate wrote down his name.

 _"Nate Johnson, Retired Veteran, adult male, 29."_

He then handed it to Nora and she wrote down _"Nora Johnson, Lawyer, adult female, 29."_ and _"Shaun Johnson, male infant, 1."_

Nora then handed it back to the Vault-Tec Rep and he replied saying - "Wonderful! That's everything...just gonna walk this over to the vault now...congratulations, on being prepared for the future!" he happily announced to them.

"Thanks again!" Nate said

They both smiled and waved him goodbye as Nate closed the door.

"Wow! That man is _FAR_ too happy for that type of job! Hahahah!" Nate laughed

"Hey, it's piece of mind. That's worth a little paperwork, right ?" Nora asked

"For you and Shaun, no price is too high." Nate said, kissing her on the lips

Nora laughed lightly "Hmm, good answer."

"I have my moments!" Nate replied, as he turned to go get some milk for a quick second drink, when he noticed the empty dog bowl sat next to the table and his heart sank again.

He sighed and muttered - "Never gonna find that dog..."

They had had that dog for two years, since the day Nora had bought him as a puppy while Nate was still out fighting in the war, just before he was deployed to Alaska, for an added _'Welcome Home'_ surprise for him. And it was a great, welcomed surprise for him indeed...only the American Alsatian went missing a month and a half ago...

"Hey, hey. He'll turn up eventually Nate. He's got to." Nora said to him reassuringly.

"I know, i just miss that cuddly bastard, that's all." Nate replied, with a glimmer of hope.

Nate then walked over to the fridge to get some that Milk, in doing so he decided to read the notes on the fridge door that Nora had left.

 _'Shopping List: Bread, Cranberry Juice, Cake, also Dish Soap and Bleach :-)_ ' "Hmm, wonder what type of cake ?"

Then he thought to himself - "Need to try some more Cherry or Quantum Nuka-Cola again, they're really damn tasty!"

Now that breakfast was done and the plates were in the sink, Codsworth was heard hovering back down the hallway, calling out to them both, saying -

"Mister Nate, Miss Nora. Shaun has been changed, but he absolutely refuses to calm down. I think he needs some of that 'paternal affection' you two excel at!" Codsworth said as he floated down the hall.

Nora looked at Nate and chuckled "Go on, i'll just be a minute."

So he walked down the hall and into Shaun's room, and found something laying on the floor.

"Huh, how'd you get on the floor, Mr. Bear ?" he asked, picking up the Teddy Bear and placing him back on his spot on the shelf.

Nate walked over to his son's crib, and gently tickled his tummy, earning a cute little giggle in response.

"And how are the two most important men in my life doing ?" Nora asked, having walked through silently and having decided to lean against the door frame, with a hand down on her hip.

"Spin the mobile a bit, he loves that." Nora said as she walked in, closing the door behind them for some private family time.

Nate gave a chuckle as he turned back to face Shaun and spun the mobile. Nora came up behind him and gave him a hug again, it was something she loved doing and was quite fond of doing every chance she got. While little Shaun giggled away happily as he reached out at the flying rockets spinning around above him.

Letting go of Nate, Nora picked Shaun up out of his crib and as asked him "And how's my little angel doing, huh ?" Bouncing Shaun about in her arms a few times, getting a delighted laugh from the baby.

The couple looked around the room and looked at all of Shaun's stuff they'd bought him, visualising what the future had in store for their little guy.

"Wonder what Shaun'll grow up to be ?" Nate asked, holding up the 'You're S.P.E.C.I.A.L' book to Nora

"I'm sure whatever he becomes, he'll be great at it." Nora smiled, Nate looked at the Baseball and Glove on the small table by the door.

"Glove's a little big right now but, Shaun'll grow into it. And i can't wait to play catch with my boy down at the park one day, could maybe even get his baseball signed!" Nate said with a smile.

Looking at the rest of his toys, Nora said "Huh, well he'll either be great at spelling, or great at smashing blocks together. Hmm, and to think, one day he's gonna learn how to drive!" Nora said with excitement.

Nate chuckled and said "I can't wait to teach him how to ride this!" he said pointing at the Tri-cycle, then he looked at Shaun's toy car and said "Hehe, but one day he's gonna learn how to drive a real car!"

Nora put Shaun back down in his crib and placed her hands up on Nate's shoulders.

"Listen, i was thinking we could head down to the park for a bit later. Weather should hold up, like the sound of that ?" Nora asked

"Yeah, that sounds like great fun!" Nate responded, earning another smile from his wife.

"Sir! Mum! You should come and see this!" Codsworth called from the living room, oddly sounding very worried.

"Codsworth ? What's wrong buddy ?" Nate yelled

"I wonder what's wrong with Codsworth ?" Nora asked Nate

"I'll go check, hon." Nate said, exiting the room.

...

As he walked down the hallway Nate could overhear the TV Presenter sounding just as worried, saying - "Followed by...yes, followed by flashes. Blinding flashes..."

"Blinding flashes ?! Oh no. No, no, no! Please don't tell me..." Nate muttered as he entered the living room and walked over to Codsworth next to the TV. They both looked at the TV, and were already feeling very worried.

"Sounds of explosions."

"Shit!"

The News-Presenter looked incredibly worried aswell...

"We're...we're trying to get confirmation..."d

"What ? What did he just say ?" Nora asked, suddenly appearing from behind, walking over to Nate's side with Shaun resting in one arm, and taking Nate's hand with the other.

"But we seem to have lost contact with our affiliate stations...We do have...coming in...confirmed reports of...I repeat, confirmed reports of nuclear detonation in New York and Pennsylvania...My God...Our soldiers were right after all...War...War never changes..." the news man announced, before the channel cut off.

Nora gasped loudly as looked to Nate and Codsworth, worrying and asking them "No, no, no, no, no...this can't be happening! Can it ?"

Now seemingly stuck in panic mode, Nate was still wide eyed and open mouthed at the reports, not registering his worried Wife's question or the reality of the situation...remaining completely silent.

"Oh my goodness me..." Codsworth said

"Nate ? Nate?! Hon ?" Nora said, snapping Nate out of his trance-like state. Causing him to quickly realise what they needed to do.

"We...we need to get to the Vault! **NOW!** " he yelled, forcing his shaking body to start moving, and to get to that Vault, a.s.a.p!

"Okay, we-we've got to hurry!" Nora agreed, beginning to shake in fear.

Nate vaulted over the couch again and threw open the front door, and Nora ran out onto the porch, but before he began running Nate stopped himself and remembered that Codsworth wouldn't be able to come with them...

"I'm so sorry Codsworth, i guess this is goodbye for now...you stay safe buddy, you hear!"

"And the same to all of you...oh, goodness gracious!" Codsworth replied, saying his potentially last goodbye to his family.

"Alright, c'mon hon! We gotta get moving!" Nate yelled out, as he took Nora's hand again and they sprinted out onto the street.

* * *

 ** _I hope that you guys liked this chapter, i know that some may or may not like how i made Nate the soldier that the Lone Wanderer plays as in Fallout 3's Operation Anchorage DLC, but i wanted to try something new and different with Nate, and i understand that there were some parts i may have rushed, i intend to dive deeper into Nate and Nora's Pre-War life in future chapters, and i apologise if that shower scene or any other scenes were a bit poorly written, i haven't written in a while, so getting used to it again. Anyways, if you want to leave a review to help me know what you liked and didn't like so that i can improve it for future chapters it'd be appreciated._**

 _ **Anyways, peace out.**_


	2. Chapter 2: Tragedy

Time moved slowly...

This couldn't be happening!

Sounds seemed so distant, and yet Nate could hear everything. The sirens blaring, fellow residents screaming in panic, neighbourhood dogs barking, the lot. Cars were being filled with luggage by some families who supposedly hadn't got access to the Vault, Kid's bikes lay on the pavements, the road and on houses front lawns. Even the Vault-Tec van outside his house was just abandoned and left in the middle of the road. there were discarded Baseball gloves and Bats, Footballs and Basketballs rolling down the street with panicked, rushing crowds.

A green coloured Army Vertibird slowly hovered overhead, announcing through its speakers "Residents of Sanctuary Hills, if you are registered, make your way to Vault 111 immediately!"

"God i hope we've got enough time!" Nate thought in his panicked state.

Some residents screamed in fear, "We're all gonna die!", while others refused to believe this was happening "Oh my god! This isn't really happening, it's just a drill practice right ?", and the rest...well the rest had simply accepted their fate.

Pulling himself out of his slowed down and mostly terrified state, Nate noticed their neighbours from across the street - Mr and Mrs Washington. The older, african american couple with whom Nate and Nora were very close to.

The Washington's were stood out on their driveway, stood still and embracing each other.

"Guys, what're you just standing there for ?! C'mon, you gotta get to the Vault now before the nuke hits!" Nate yelled running over to them, while Nora ran over to their next door neighbours on their side of the street.

"We weren't 'granted access', son. Bastards are just leaving us out here to die...But we've lived a long and happy life...so atleast we'll be together when it happens." Carl Washington said

"They couldn't-Nevermind that, just come with us and try atleast!"

Mr Washington raised his hand up. "It's okay Nathan, we've accepted our fate. But little Shaun needs his daddy, now hurry up and get going!"

Nate couldn't believe this was all happening. The majority of his neighbours were likely going to die out here, and he couldn't do anything about that.

"You're a great man, Nate. Pleasure knowing you and Nora." He said, extending his hand for a quick handshake.

Though he hesitated, due to the saddening thought that they would both die, he knew this was the last chance to say goodbye to a good friend. So he quickly shook his hand and said "Goodbye." before continuing to run.

As he ran away, Carl turned to look his wife in the eyes and said to her "It's okay Loretta, it'll be over with before we even feel a thing. God, I love you so much!" Carl said as he hugged his wife tighter, beginning to cry.

"I love you too, Carl!" Loretta said back, kissing her husband for one of the last times...

* * *

Nora, like Nate, went over to their neighbours to try and talk them into running to the Vault with them aswell. These neighbours were a young lesbian couple, Gabby and Holly, from the house next to Nora's. They were very close friends of Nora.

But she got the same response from this couple as Nate got from the Washington's.

The two girls both must've only been about 23 years old each, so they most definetly didn't deserve to die by like this!

"C'mon girls, please! You've both got so much more to give and you're both so young, i don't care what Vault-Tec said get both your asses into that Vault!" Nora begged them

"No Nora, those Vault-Tec assholes granted me access to their Vault, but not Gabby!" With tears forming she said defiantly. "i'm not leaving her!"

"You can both make it! Surely they'll understand. C'mon please!" Nora begged, starting to tear up herself.

"They made it clear Gabby can't come, so fuck them! I'm dying here, with the life of my life. I don't wanna even think about being without her." Holly said, before pointing at their house and saying. "This is the life we made together, so it's where it'll end for us. So just please go, you're so great Nora, people like you need to survive, now PLEASE GO!" she yelled at Nora, tears running from all three women now.

At this point Nate returned to her side and after a moments pause he said, gently grabbing Nora's hand and telling her "C'mon sweetheart, it's their choice, we have to keep going!"

She looked at him, near heartbroken and then looked back at them.

"Oh god! I'm so sorry girls! _*sniff*_ Goodbye!" Nora said, cheeks soaked with warm tears. So, with that Nate and Nora kept going, and knew that they couldn't afford to stop and try to convince their other neighbours to come if they'd chosen to stay.

* * *

"Oh, God! You still should've gone Holly, you're gonna die because of me!" Gabby said, somewhat angrily.

"Never! I would rather die than be without you, to hell with being stuck in some metal box in the ground with some horny guys with big egos! I love you, and i don't wanna keep living if it means living without having you there!" Holly yelled back

Their faces were both covered in tears as they hugged each other tight and had one, extended final kiss.

* * *

As Nate and Nora kept running they saw the old couple, Mr and Mrs Parker, still dressed in their pyjamas, standing at the back of their car. Mr Parker argued with her to get into the car so that they could drive to the coast to try and outrun a nuclear bomb...while Mrs Parker told him to just stop and accept their fate. To which he refused.

As they reached the mucky footpath and construction barriers leading down towards the bridge across the stream and up the hill to the Vault security gate they noticed three Military personnel, two stood in front of a Military APC parked in the middle of the road, their only job to instruct the residents towards the Vault, and another stood in front of the barriers. There was an abandoned motorbike, still running laid down on its side behind the barrier guard, next to it, a few coloured suitcases on the pavement.

At this point Shaun began to cry, "Shh, shh. It's okay Shaun." Nora said, trying to sound calm and soothing but failing to, given the situation.

When they ran down the hill and over the bridge Nate and Nora passed Mr and Mrs Donoghue, whom were arguing loudly over a suitcase of all things! "Leave the damn bags, who cares ?" Mrs Donoghue yelled at her idiotic husband who was desperate to haul his spilled money and suits back into the suitcase.

"Just help me pack it back up dammit!" Mr Donoghue yelled

"Oh, to hell with you and your gambling money! I'm getting to safety!" she screamed at him and took off on her own.

As Nate and Nora were running up the hill, Nate noticed little Jimmy Summer running by his side. "Hey, Jim, keep running buddy, it's gonna be fine!" Nate said encouragingly.

But little Jimmy just stopped and looked up at him, teary eyed and said. "I-I can't find my mum and dad, Mister Nate, they said to keep running and not look back but now i can't find them! Can you help me find them ? Please ? I thought they'd be near-by!"

"Yeah, sure. Of course i will Jimmy, but we should get to the gates first, okay ? I'll bet that's where you'll find them!" Nate replied, trying himself to sound confident and composed, even though he currently wasn't.

"Yeah, don't worry kiddo, it'll be alright, they won't be far." Nora said through her tears, also trying to sound confident and composed enough to convince the boy that he would be fine despite her watering eyes and nose.

The large billboard next to the Vault entrance now came into view and soon the entry gate came into view too, with a small crowd of half the residents of Sanctuary around it, and among all the voices, Nate could make out one better than the rest - "That's Absurd! I _AM_ Vault-Tec!"

It was that cheery Vault-Tec Rep from earlier, he had a small ginger-headed girl holding his hand.

"Are they not letting him of all people in ?" Nate muttered to Nora, whom just shrugged in response.

"We're going in! You can't stop us!" He yelled at the man stood in front of him.

Nate heard the all too familiar sound of a spinning Mini-gun barrel and saw the Vault-Tec Rep put his hand up in the air. "Whoa, oh, oh, oh! Okay, okay!" he said, slowly backing away, before he took the little girl's hand again and turned to start running back down the hill, yelling - " **I'M REPORTING THIS!** " Until he, and the small child disappeared from view.

There were two Power-Armored soldiers on either side of the man who'd denied the Vault-Tec Rep entry into the Vault. The first thing Nate noticed about them was obviously the colour of the two Power Armor suits, both in the standard Army Green colour. One soldier was wearing the popular T-51b Power Armor, and equipped with a fresh off the assembly line Assault rifle with an extended barrel. The other soldier was displaying the Army's newest Power Armor - the T-60d. The soldier using it wielded the standard Mini-Gun.

Nate counted the faces in the crowd, scanning for little Jimmy's parents, he could make out at least three couples, Mr and Mrs Callahan, Mr and Mrs Smith - another young couple **_(i know in-game Mr & Mrs Smith are a old couple, but i decided to make them the young couple hugging at the gate instead)_**, and finally Mr and Mrs Summer - Jimmy's parents! They were stood together, Mrs Summer in full panic mode obviously looking for Jimmy, and Mr Summer comforting her as best he could while also scanning the crowd himself. Next to them, Nate noticed the normally full of life Mailman, whom had now seemingly accepted his fate too and was sat on the ground crying silently.

"Hey, kid. Look over there!" Nate told the boy, pointing out his parents for him.

" **Mum! Dad!** " Little Jimmy yelled instantly

" _Oh my god!_ **Jimmy!** Oh thank goodness, where were you ? We were worried sick!" Mrs Summer cried as she raced over to embrace him.

"I found Mister Nate and he said we'd find you up here! I was so scared!" the boy said

"Oh thank you Nate! Thank you so much!" she said, standing up and throwing her arms around him to give him a quick hug, while Mr Summer shook his hand as his sign of gratitude.

"You're welcome Diana, now get all your asses into that Vault!" Nate said to them, in a almost pleading tone.

"If you're in the program, step forward. Otherwise, **RETURN HOME!** "

"C'mon hon!" Nate said to his emotional wife, leading her by the hand.

They all ran over to the Soldier granting all the 'chosen' residents entry and Nate walked up to him. "We need to get in! We're on the list!" He told him, motioning to Nora and Shaun.

The soldier looked at Nate, Nora and Shaun and looked back at his check-list. "Adult Male, Adult Female, Infant. Okay, go ahead! Good luck Sir! And god help us all." he said as he stepped to the side.

"C'mon, hon!" Nate yelled again "See you guys in a minute!" Nate said to the others, he noticed more residents running up to the gate. Not noticing the two Power-Armored soldiers making a wall between them and their side of the gate to prevent the residents not on the program from gaining entry.

Nate and Nora ran up the hill a little bit and were met with a waiting Vault-Tec employee.

"You two follow me! And hurry!" he said.

As they ran up the last bit of hill, Nora noticed the Vertibird land on a flat bit of ground just ahead of them next to a crane, then she got curious and asked "What's gonna happen to all the people outside the gate ? Please tell me you're flying them away on that Vertibird and not leaving them to die!" she asked, only just managing to fight back her emotions for now.

"We're doing everything we can ma'am, now keep moving!"

The Vault-Tec employee led them to the top of the hill and told them to step onto the round platform near the edge of the hill, which overlooked Sanctuary. On it stood atleast ten other residents. As they ran onto the platform Mr and Mrs Callahan joined them from behind, but it was just them...

"Alright, that's all of them! Send them down!" the employee yelled

The sound of Shaun crying, the Vertibird's engines and the shouting voices was getting too much for Nora right now.

Nate looked at his wife now, and he saw just how terrified she looked, so he grabbed her hand and told her "Hey, don't worry. We're gonna be okay Nora. You, me and Shaun. I love you. Both of you!" Nate said putting his arms around them.

"We love you too, Nate!" Nora replied with a sad smile, as she rested her head against his neck.

Shaun was crying uncontrollably at this point.

Not half a second later, a bright light flashed in the distance, immediately followed by a large **BOOOOOOOM!**

" **HOLY FUCKING** **SHIT!** " Nate screamed as he raised an arm to cover his eyes

" **OH MY GOD! SHIT!** " Nora cried out in terror, closing her eyes and burying her head deeper into Nate's neck whilst shielding Shaun with her arms out of motherly instinct.

Nate, Nora and all the other residents could only stand and watch as they witnessed the mushroom cloud form and saw the resulting shock wave start heading towards them at an alarming rate. Everyone crouched down in fear. Nate wrapped his body around Nora's back and his arms around her head again and held them close. The pair both made sure that Shaun was completely shielded by them both.

One thing everyone had in common right now was that they were all now shaking with absolute fear as they all eventually looked up and watched the massive mushroom cloud rise and form itself. The previously bright blue sky now turned a brighter orange, and a large cloud of red sped towards them, the trees and pylons all row by row were pummelled by the sheer force of the blast, and everyone could instantly feel the heat from the blast!

" **DOWN! NOW! SEND IT DOWN NOW!** " the Vault-Tec employee screamed at the other in the small booth, which controlled the Vault Platform they were stood on.

" **HOLD ON!** " Nate yelled out, protectively.

Suddenly the platform jolted down quickly, and then slowed down again giving all the residents enough time to watch the absolute devastation head their way...luckily the platform started descending at a much, more accelerated speed.

A gigantic whoosh of hot air blew around them as the platform began picking up speed.

As they descended down the hole Nate looked up and saw the force of the blast cloud spread over the area they had been seconds earlier, as two metal doors linked and sealed up, locking them in and guaranteeing their safety. Nate wiped sweat from his forehead and looked back down Nora and Shaun, Nora finally looked up and looked around as the elevator platform slowed down. Even Shaun had now quietened down.

The platform had now finally reached it's destination. Vault 111.

"We did it. We made it, we're okay." Mr Russell said, but all that Nate and Nora could think about was all the people that just died up there. Family, Friends, Neighbours, Soldiers, Children, Dogs, Cats, even the kind Vault-Tec Rep...Everyone they knew was gone just like that. Only those 'approved for entry' got to survive.

Two Vault-Tec members were there to greet everyone as the large metal gate between the Vault and the platform raised up.

"Everyone please step off the platform, and proceed up the stairs in an orderly fashion." one of them told them

"Hiya there folks, I'm the Overseer of this Vault! There's no need to worry! We'll get you all situated in your new home. Vault 111! A Better Future, Underground!" The Overseer said

"S-So we just..." Mr Callahan began to speak

"Yes, up the stairs." the Security Officer said

"I can't believe it...if we had left a minute later...we'd all be-Just...all those poor people, they-" Mr Able began to speak, but again was cut off.

"No, no! Don't get caught up thinking about that. You're safe now. Try not to think about it" The Overseer said

Everyone eventually, though hesitantly started walking off the platform and up the stairs.

"It's okay, honey. We're all safe now, see ?" Nora said to Shaun, before she bit her lip to try and hold back her tears. Which unfortunately didn't work.

Nate saw, and just hugged her again. "I know, hon. I know. It's not fair."

She through sobs, managed to reply - "It's just...everyone up there...all the friends we had, all those p-poor kids, all those teenagers, Holly and Gabby. Carl and Loretta. Even little Jimmy! They-They're all gone!"

Nate didn't say anymore than "I know", and he just held her tight and they swayed for a while until Nora felt composed enough to continue with everything down here.

"Okay, okay i'm all...all better now, lets go, right little guy ?" She said rocking Shaun in her arms.

Everyone else had made their way up the stairs in single-file, except for Mr and Mrs Whitfield whom had to take a moment to breath and rather themselves. The group of residents walked across a small metal bridge and heard a voice play on the speakers.

" _Vault-Tec is here for you. All new residents proceed in an orderly fashion. Welcome Home!"_

There was a male employee with a clipboard checking observing them all as they passed by. He was tallying up how many Male and Female there were.

"Step over to the table please folks!" a voice said, instructing Nate and Nora, and the Whitfield's to follow the rest.

One by one, the residents walked up to a table, had their measurements taken by a vault employee and were given a new Vault outfit the right size that they _had_ to wear, along with a smile...

First was Mr & Mrs Able, then Mr & Mrs Callahan, then Mr Russell, then Mr DiPietro and then finally Mr & Mrs Avery.

Nate walked up to the lady handing out the fresh, new, packaged Vault 111 jumpsuits, had his measurements taken, and Nora had hers taken after. The overly cheerful lady said "Hi there! You'll be needing your jumpsuits before you can go any further! Here you are, they should be in your exact size!"

Nate took their still packaged jumpsuit. "Um...thanks, what now ?" he asked

"Just follow the doctor here, he's for you folks only 'cuz of your little cutie-pie there, he'll show you where to go!" she replied

"Alright you three, follow me!" he said, as Mr & Mrs Whitfield walked up to the table for their measurements.

Nate and Nora followed him down the tunnel as he told them about their new home

"Oh, you're gonna love it here. This is one of our most advanced facilities! Not that the others aren't great, mind you..."

As they walked they passed Mr & Mrs Baker, who were being comforted by a female security employee.

"Oh god...our home... _everything_ we had...just...gone..." Mr Baker said

"God, Ron! My mother and father were in D.C...oh god, honey, what if they didn't make it ?!" Mrs Baker said clearly in panic mode

"There are a few Vaults in the general D.C area, ma'am. It is possible they made it to one in time." the employee said, "-I know this is a difficult time, but Vault-Tec is here for you."

Moving her focus away from their neighbour, Nora asked the question on everyone's minds "How long do you think we'll be down here for ?"

"Oh, we'll be going over that in orientation. Just a few medical items we have to go through first." the doctor casually responded

They walked into a rather chilly room with about eight large pods, four on each side, all in the open position it looked like.

Nate noticed Mr & Mrs Callahan, both already in their Vault suits, and also noticed that every other pod minus the end ones had more of their neighbours already in them, Vault suits on aswell. The Callahans began to get into their individual pods.

"Such a lovely couple! We hope you'll come to see this as your new home!" an employee said to them.

"'Prepared for the future' Right ?" Mr Callahan said

Nate didn't like this one bit. Something felt wrong.

They walked to the end of the room and the doctor turned to face them.

"Okay folks, we just need you two to get into your Vault suits now and then just hop into the Vault's Decontamination Pod!"

Nora looked at Nate and blushed lightly and then looked back at the doctor.

"Do we have to get changed right here ?" Nora asked

"Yes, you do, the changing rooms are off-limits for the time being. Don't worry though, we're not going to watch you change." he said as he and the other doctors turned and faced away from them.

Nora gently placed Shaun down at the top of the stairs and hesitantly unbuttoned the top button of her trousers but then stopped.

"You feel really uncomfortable, don't ya honey ?" Nate asked, as he pulled off his t-shirt. Nora just quietly nodded at him.

"Here, i'll cover you so no one can see you, okay ?" he said with a assuring smirk, stepping in front of her to stop anyone from seeing her assets.

"Thanks, hon." she said with a grateful smile, as she untucked her top from her trousers, unbuttoned the top three buttons, grabbed the bottom of it by both sides and pulled it up over her head and then tossed it down next to Nate's top.

Nora flicked off her white shoes and then unbuttoned and really hesitantly pulled down her trousers, chucking them onto the pile of clothes once they were off. She now stood in just her matching black bra and panties, unsure if her bra were included in this 'all you need is this jumpsuit' thing.

"Um...um, excuse me, doctor ? This might be a really stupid question, but do i have to remove my bra too ?" Nora again hesitantly asked over Nate's shoulder.

"Oh, it's entirely up to you ma'am, though from what i've heard from our staff members it's meant to be a whole lot comfier without a bra on underneath. But again, that's your choice." The Vault-Tec Doctor said, his back still turned.

"If you wanna take your bra off don't worry about it, they're not gonna see anything, hon." Nate said assuringly

She thought for a moment before she said "Nah, only you get to see these puppies without a bra, hon." Nora whispered, and then giggled at the comment, while Nate just chuckled.

"Good to see you in better spirits hon." Nate said to her.

Nora grabbed her Vault 111 jumpsuit and slipped it on, it was kinda tight, but at the same time it was actually pretty comfy. "Know what, i think maybe i will take my bra off. But only later when no one could possibly perv on me." she thought to herself

Nate then slipped off his dress shoes and trousers, now dressed in just his tightie-whitie's, he too slipped on his Vault 111 jumpsuit, his was a perfect fit, not too tight, not too loose, and super comfy too.

"Alright, we're changed." Nate told the doctors

Nora picked Shaun up and walked over with Nate to the doctor.

"Waaaaaaaa-waaaaa!"

"Shh, it'll be okay sweetie, Daddy's right here, see ?" Nora said to their upset little boy.

"Honey, could you help me ?" she asked

"Who's my little guy, huh ? I'm not going far, i'll just be over there." Nate said walking over and tickling Shaun's tummy again, like he did back at their house. Getting little Shaun to calm down again.

"There he is, see ? Daddy's not going far." Nora said, as she smiled down at Shaun. "Thanks, hon."

"All set folks ?" The doctor asked. "Just step inside the decontamination pod when you're ready. Your son will be fine to go into your pod with you, ma'am, so don't you worry." the doctor said

Looking at his pod, Nate hesitantly climbed inside, as he turned around he placed his feet on the small bars extending from both sides and leaned back in the seat like part. Seeing Nora doing the same when he looked up.

"The pod will decontaminate and depressurize you before we head deeper into the Vault. Just relax." the doctor informed Nate, as all the pod doors in the room began closing.

Nate exhaled, "Time for a whole new life." he said to himself.

"Residents secure." a ladies voice said from up above everyone.

Nate looked over at Nora again, she put her hand flat up against the small glass window and smiled, and Nate did the same.

 _"Occupant vitals: Normal."_ Nate heard the same voice say inside his pod.

 _"Procedure complete."_

"Alright, time to see the rest of this place..." Nate muttered

Nate heard a hissing sound getting louder and louder and suddenly felt a invisible substance spray his face from the sides of his pod!

He knew he was right to feel strange about all of this!

 _"In 5...4...3-"_

"What happens when that finishes counting down ?!" Nate half panicked, as he felt slightly sleepier and felt his entire pod get...chilly ? No...more than chilly, he felt very cold now!

 _"2...1..."_ Nate saw the window in front of him slowly...freeze ?! "What the hell is this ?!" he thought in panic, noticing the same happen to Nora's pod!

"What is this !? I've got to get out of here!" Nate thought, but he quickly found himself feeling very sleepy, and felt his panic and his fight subside as he felt his eyes closing.

There was a bright white light, and then...

"No! I gotta...fight...th"

That was when he lost consciousness.

* * *

 _150 years later..._

"Manual override initiated. Cryogenic stasis suspended."

Nate slowly felt himself waking up again, and his vision slowly came back to him, though it was blurry, yet he could make out the pod room. As his sight continued to return to him he noticed a blurry figure appear from the right and move around the area in front of him.

"This is the one. Here." a female voice said, pointing at Nora's pod.

"Shit. Who the fuck are _they_ ?"

Nate blinked a few times and now his vision completely returned to him, but what he saw didn't seem right...this woman didn't dress like a Vault-Tec employee...instead of a blue and yellow jumpsuit she wore a full body, light green hazmat looking outfit with a red stripe.

A second figure came into view now. This figure was dressed completely different though. This was a guy, and this guy was bald and wore a brown jacket.

"Open it." he told the woman.

The woman pulled a lever next to Nora's pod and her door began to open up.

Nora began gasping for air, and Shaun started crying again. Nora took a second to look at them both. "Is it over ?" she asked before coughing pretty heavily, "-Are we okay ?"

Nate began coughing now aswell, though he wasn't paid any attention.

The woman walked closer to Nora, reaching out for Shaun.

"Almost. Everything's gonna be fine." the bald man told Nora

"Come here...come here, child." the woman said, getting uncomfortably closer to Nora. Nate began banging on his window, trying to take the attention of these shady people away from his family.

Nora pushed herself and Shaun back away from the woman defensively, telling her - " ** _No._** No, I've got him leave him alone, he's my son. _**I** **'ve got him, please back off, you're making me uncomfortable!**_ " Nora said, pulling Shaun closer to her chest.

" **Hey!** Leave my son alone!" Nate yelled at them, banging on his window a few times more.

Nate was still ignored though.

"Let the boy go. I'm only gonna tell you once!" the bald guy said, as he pulled out a large revolver from his holster and aimed it right at Nora.

Nora's eyes widened. " **NO!** Leave him alone, you creeps! You're not taking my son away from me!" Nora yelled at them both.

"Hey! Hey, leave my family alone assholes!" Nate yelled from inside his pod, banging more violently on his window now.

The woman now jumped up on the foot-rest and started trying to rip Shaun from Nora's arms as she fought hard to keep him.

"NORA! Fucking leave her alone you fuckers!" Nate screamed, as he tried to break his windows glass with his arm, but failed to put his full force into it as he still felt weakened and tired from his cryo-sleep.

The bald man took a half-look towards Nate but quickly turned back to Nora.

" ** _Urgh!_** **I'm not giving you Shaun!** _**Ugh!**_ **_NATE! NA_** -" she yelled

There was a loud **_BANG_ ** and then Nora suddenly stopped protesting, and fell back into her seat, motionless.

" **NOOOOORA! FUCK! YOU FUCKING MOTHER-FUCKING MONSTERS! I'LL KILL YOU WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE! I FUCKING SWEAR IT! FUUUUUCK!** " Nate screamed, as he ferociously punched the window.

While he screamed the woman plucked a screaming and crying Shaun from Nora's limp arms.

A moment of silence past between the two before the man turned to the woman and said. "Goddammit! We got what we came for, let's get the kid outta here."

"Least we still got the back-up." he said, walked up close to Nate's pod. The man had a large scar over his left eye, a good bit of stubble, a dirty brown jacket and white shirt and a fucking smirk on his face to add more reason for Nate to hate his guts. Nate would remember every fine detail of this prick's face so that he could find him once he got out of his pod.

" **I'M GONNA GET OUT OF HERE AND I'M GONNA BREAK YOUR FUCKING SKULL!** " Nate screamed at him.

The woman flicked a button on the panel for Nora's pod and it closed up again, while the two of them and Shaun walked out of sight.

 _"Cryogenic sequence reinitialized."_

" **Shit!** No, no, NO! They're gonna freeze me again! **Fuck!** "

Then there was the invisible substance and the chill and the sudden feeling of tiredness all over again. And again the bright white light engulfed him and put him to sleep...

* * *

 _60 years later..._

Nate felt himself waking up once more, seeing the pod room through blurry vision again. This time he immediately began gasping for air and coughing violently.

"They come back to finish me off ?" Nate wondered.

He regained his sight again and started banging on the pod door again. He needed to get out of here somehow.

 _"Critical failure in Cryogenic Array."_

 _Tssssss..._

 _"All Vault residents must vacate immediately."_

To Nate's relief his pod started to open up, and he tried to push it open quicker, desperate to get to Nora or fight some assholes. Nate noticed that the floor was no longer cool and frozen, now it looked like it had just had rainfall in here, "Has the icy theme going on in here all melted ?" Nate thought.

When the door was all the way up, Nate felt even more relieved. "I'm out...i'm out!" Nate thought

He grabbed the inner handles and pulled himself out and onto his feet, but he quickly realised that he felt a tab queasy and light-headed all of a sudden.

His whole body felt shaky and numb, yet he ignored that and tried to take another step forward, only for his legs to become like jelly and fall asleep on him, his legs started trembling and immediately gave out, resulting in him face-planting the wet floor. Despite how his whole body was currently feeling numb, like jelly, completely asleep - you name it, despite all those feeling he managed raised his head to look up at the pod his wife was sealed up inside...

" _Nora ?_ " he asked quietly, hoping...praying for a response. He was almost certain of what he'd find when he opened it up, but still he held out hope.

After his body wasn't feeling numb anymore he pushed himself up onto his feet and kept made sure he could keep his balance this time.

Nate looked around at all the other pods in the room and noticed something they all had in common, to the left of each pod was what must've been a Control Panel. There were four dials and one small lever at the bottom. "Okay, okay...uh, lets try the lever." Nate grabbed the small lever and pushed it all the way upwards.

He guessed right, as Nora's pod hissed and began to open up. But Nate was far too impatient right now " **COME ON, COME ON,** **COME ON!** **OH GOD!** I'm getting you out of there Nora, just hold on!"

The pod door fully opened up and Nate got his first look at her condition. Nora was slightly bent over to her right, still motionless...she looked half frozen now. Then Nate saw it. Her bullet wound...a single shot to the chest, just above her right breast.

"Nora ? Nora ?! Can you hear me, hon ?" Nate asked, desperately searching for any signs of life in her. But...

Nora was so still. "This can't be real, it can't be! **It can't be!** "

 **Nothing.**

"No, no, no. Nora, please...please! Stay with me! Stay with me! You stay with me! Please!" Nate said as he gently grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Her hand was frozen cold.

"Don't do this to me Nora! Don't go...please, don't leave me...don't go where i can't follow...you can't be gone, you **CAN'T** be! Please!?" Nate said as he became choked up and warm tears began to fall down his cheeks.

 **Nothing...**

"No...Nora...P-Please, i-i-i can't lose you. **PLEASE!** " Nate screamed in denial.

"I...i...why ? _Why ?!_ **WHY?! WHY?!** " Nate screamed in anger, remembering those who cam in here and did this.

...

Nate grew silent now. He sat on his knees for what felt like an hour, even though in reality, it was just a few minutes.

He knew he had to force himself to accept the reality of this situation. Even though that was the last thing he wanted to do.

...

"She's gone Nate. Isn't she ? She's really gone. Nothing you du can change that, you couldn't do anything. She...she looks so peaceful in there, doesn't she ?...But...but Shaun is still out there...somewhere, _our son_ is out there! I'll save him _for Nora_. I'll kill _them_ for Nora. I can't let _them_ get whatever they want to do with Shaun!" Nate told himself.

Nate grabbed Nora's hand again, and after staring at it for a few seconds, gently removed Nora's wedding ring.

"I'll find who did this, and i'll get Shaun back. I promise. I love you, Nora." Nate said as he gently kissed her cold lips for a few seconds, and then flipped the lever down, sealing her pod closed once more. She should atleast have her body kept preserved. Nate let the rest of his tears out, dropped to his knees and remained still for a few moments, before punching the floor a few times out of anger.

Eventually he calmed himself, stood up and looked at the pod to his left (or the right of Nora's), and saw Mr. Russell inside, he couldn't save Nora, but he can save him and everyone else in this vault!

Nate flipped the lever, but he was met with a voice saying " _Malfunction in Cryo Pod manual release override_."

He tried again, and the voice said the same thing again. Once more. Same again.

Nate looked inside. Mr Russell was slumped back, mouth open slightly and his eyes open. Unmoving. He was dead. "Goddammit! You too ? Fuck."

He tried the pod on Nora's other side, in that pod was Mrs Able, Nate tried the same thing with her pod, and had the same result. "No. No, please don't tell me..." he said to himself.

There had to be some survivors other than him, surely ? He'd try one more pod, the one next to his, with Mr Able inside it, but the same result again..."Fuck!" Nate yelled, punching the panel out of anger.

Nate walked to the end of the room, as he was about to open the door to the rest of the Vault he noticed a terminal in the corner, and it still seemed to work!

Clicking on **_'Life Support'_** , Nate read that the Life Support for all the Cryo Pods but his were offline. He kept reading.

 _'Premature termination resulting in system failure. Isolated Manual and remote override detected. Controls Disabled.'_

He then clicked back and then clicked on _**'Pod Occupant Status'**_

* * *

 _Pod C1 - Empty - N/A_

 _Pod C2 - Mrs. Callahan - Deceased. Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C3 - Mr. Callahan - Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C4 - Mr. Able - Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C5 - Mrs. Able - Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C6 - Mrs. Johnson and Shaun (Infant) - Deceased. Unknown._

 _Pod C7 - Mr. Johnson - Unknown_

 _Pod C8 - Mr. Russell - Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

* * *

Nate backed away in shock and sadness and looked at all the pods. All of them...dead... ** _them_**... ** _those_ ** assholes...they must've left them to suffocate instead of re-freezing them! Those fucking monsters!

Opening the door, Nate left the pod room now. His breathing was heavy, he had so many different feelings and thoughts going through his head right now. He knew that he needed to get out of this Vault.

Though he wanted to inspect the room to his left first. "Might be survivors in this room if they'd only came for Shaun before ?" Nate hoped. He opened the door...ten pods...more of the same ?

He walked straight over to the room's terminal opposite him and read the status of the residents in these pods.

* * *

 _Pod C1 - Mr. DiPietro -_ _Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C2 - Cindy Cofran - Deceased. Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C3 - Mrs. Whitfield - Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C4 - Mrs. Cofran - Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C5 - Mr. Whitfield - Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C6 - Mr. Cofran -_ _Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C7 - Mrs. Avery -_ _Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C8 - Mrs. Baker - Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C9 - Mr. Avery -_ _Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

 _Pod C10 - Mrs. Baker -_ _Deceased._ _Cause of Death, Asphyxiation due to Life Support Failure._

* * *

"No...No! No, I _can't_ be the _only one_ left! **HELLO! ANYONE ?** "

Nate had tears forming again, these people were all his neighbours, his friends. Not only was Nora dead, but _**everyone else** _ he knew was too?!

He left the room and walked down the hallway, picking up a ball-peen hammer from the toolbox on the way and opened up the door into the next room. He walked in, and as he explored the room he noticed something on the window. He walked closer to it and whatever it was, jumped off into the darkness of the room on the other side, he felt a bit worried now, whatever that was it was bigger than his hand! He noticed a Security Baton nearby on a crate, pressed up against the window, he grabbed it and extended it, getting ready for whatever it was through there.

Nate searched through the back area of this room and found a few desks and another terminal, he found a preserved pack of cigarettes, a Stimpak, a screwdriver and a small rucksack. He read the terminal. _'Human Subjects_.' "Why would Vault-Tec do this ? Was it Vault-Tec that kidnapped Shaun ?" Nate now wondered.

"This Stimpak will come in handy if i get hurt out there, and i could do with some stress relief too." Nate said placing the three items into the rucksack and hauling it over his shoulders.

Nate opened the door to the other room and walked through, when he did, he noticed how the Vault seemed to be falling apart in certain areas and was generally really dirty and in disrepair.

Then he saw it. The thing from through the room. "Is that a... _a giant cockroach ?_...what the hell ?!" he asked himself.

It turned suddenly and looked at him, and immediately made a bee-line for him. Nate was startled sure, but his first instinct to smack it really hard with his Baton seemed to kill it in one swing...Good.

Walking through the next room Nate found another terminal, he checked it but didn't find much, although he did see an option that said 'Eject Holotape: Red Menace ?", "Hmm...Why not. Surely gonna need some entertainment out there." Nate chose to eject the holotape and put it in his rucksack.

He then entered what could only be described as the generator room. Walking straight ahead seemed like a good way to get a high voltage electric shock, which he didn't wanna experience, so he walked around finding more giant cockroaches. He killed every one that he saw and made it to the opposite side of the room, and found a skeleton, wearing a tattered Vault 111 jumpsuit...

"What the fuck happened here then ?" he thought to himself. "Did _they_ do this ?" He asked himself looking at the giant cockroaches.

He opened the next door and found even more giant cockroaches...great.

After killing them and opening the next door Nate took a much needed drink from a fountain and when he opened the next door he found himself in the 'Overseer's office'. He walked up to the desk and found the skeleton, who he assumed must've been this _'Overseer'_

He hit the jackpot though! He found a 10mm Pistol - Standard issue in the army, it came with two 10mm ammo boxes, three more Stimpak, another preserved cigarette pack and by the looks of it, a mini-armoury in the corner. He walked into it and found another 10mm Pistol and another three 10mm ammo boxes. But what really caught his attention was the strange looking weapon in the glass case, it seemed frozen or atleast really frosty on the inside, oddly enough.

"Hello there.." Nate commented upon the sight of the weapon inside.

Nate put all the loot in his rucksack and loaded one of the 10mm Pistols. He then opened some of the desk drawers and found a key. "Please, let this open that case." he said to himself, he walked back over to the case, inserted the key, turned it and...voila! This fancy looking weapon was now his!

He walked back to the desk once more and looked at the terminal. He read the entries quickly, he discovered that his new weapon was called **_'The Cryolater'_ ** and was designed to freeze people...lovely! Revenge is a dish best served...frozen!

Using the terminal he opened the door to the tunnel leading back to the Vault door room.

When he left the Overseer's office he found atleast five or six more giant cockroaches, some bigger than the ones before. Nate made short work of them though, and found himself back in the Vault door room.

"Is anyone alive ? Did anyone get out ?" Nate asked himself as he saw about five skeletons laying spread out around the room.

He walked over to the door control panel, and noticed the skeleton below him was the doctor that had brought them to the pod room, he noticed the wrist mounted device he still had around his detached skeletal arm and picked it up, the bones just falling out of the device.

Nate placed it on his left wrist and strapped it on tight enough. It read **_'PIP-BOY'_** , He decided to examine it before anything else. It was a light brown-ish colour, though it was a tad rusted and dusty. It had a dial with a button shaped like the Vault 111 elevator platform kinda, at the bottom right was what looked like either frequency or volume, maybe a built-in radio ? It had a much smaller counter to the middle right of the screen that read **' _RADS_ '**, obviously a Geiger Counter then. At the top right was a switch that read from top to bottom: **_STAT, INV, DATA, MAP, RADIO_.** Nice!

He pressed a button and it came back to life, he wiped away the dust on the screen and watched it's green screen boot back up. It told him the basics, some was pretty interesting to read, it included: **_64K RAM System, 38911 currently free Bytes, it could play any holotape, load ROM: DEITRIX 303, it was a V7. 108 and it was an Exec Version - Version 41.10, Model: Pip-Boy 3000 Mark IV_**

Come to think of it, Nate did remember hearing about that Mr. House guy inventing these things.

 ** _'INITIATING'_ ** it read, as the little Vault-Tec mascot appeared and gave a thumbs up.

" _Activate **V.A.T.S (Vault-Tec - Assisted - Targeting - System)** system ?"_ it read, with a _'yes or no ? Vault-Tec Employees required to select no._ '

"Well fuck you, Vault-Tec. Lets see what this...'vats' thing is..." Nate muttered. He selected 'YES' and he instantly felt a tingling pain sensation shoot up all around his body, starting from his wrist for the couple of seconds, before working its way up his arm and into the left side of his torso. Until eventually the feeling encased his entire body from head to toe. Only one thing was different, whilst his body was still tingling, his left wrist felt completely numb.

The Pip-Boy had stabbed small individual needles, from each angle deep into the flesh of his wrist, or more precisely, into his veins, which injected his wrist with a special serum, concealed only within certain Pip-Boy models. The pain forced Nate to clench his teeth tightly together as it felt like his wrist was on fire! Yet at the same time he was able to observe a faint green glow emit from the veins all around his body underneath his vault-suit. His veins glowed brightly as the serum worked it's magic around his body, until it finally faded away just as soon as it'd appeared.

Nate's rest lasted but only a moment, as the pain rushed back, this time from his eyes. He saw the green light cover his arms, almost looking like a tight force field. It did the same, strangely, with his 10mm Pistol, bringing up two small rows of numbers in the bottom right corner of his field of view, and no matter how much he tried to look away from the numbers in his vision, the numbers followed wherever he looked. Remained in position. Next came a long rectangular green line in his bottom left vision with a small green heart next to it.

"So, this Pip-Boy just scanned me, and now its showing me...what ? My health and how much ammo is in my gun ? Wow! I wish these had been standard issue in the War."

The serum, and through that, the Pip-Boy, had connected directly to his brain, allowing him to 'activate' this 'V.A.T.S' at will. It explained all of this to him of course, he could activate it through emotions, will-power, by focusing, or strangely enough, through hormones. Nate was thoroughly impressed by it, and thought he'd give it a try. He focused on scanning the room, and suddenly time slowed down, and yet...Nate himself was not slowed down. Still able to move at the speed he normally could. Impressive. Most Impressive.

And at last it was finished doing whatever it needed to do, the screen now revealed the 'Stat' screen and showed Nate a representation of the Status of his body and the current condition of each limb, as well as displaying his current health. It was also able to display whatever the user was suffering from too, ranging from hay fever to bullet wounds, to cancer even.

There was an 'Inventory' section, which apparently worked by scanning weapons currently on his person, whether in holsters or hand and told him the condition, make and ammo count of any firearm. Very useful!

A 'Data' section, which could be used to download terminal entries or holotape details with, and a separate section to write down non-downloadable information in. Again, very useful.

Lastly was the 'Map' section, he simply needed to let his Pip-Boy link to the closest satellite and use it to display an accurate, and up to date map of the outside world. Handy, very handy.

And a 'Radio' section...what, were you expecting some detailed analysis on a 'Radio'...

Ultimately Nate was very impressed with his new 'Pip-Boy'.

He walked over to the Vault door controls and realised the concealed red button was the only way to open the door, but he couldn't figure out how to open it. He then took notice of a small plug in device on the back of his Pip-Boy and pulled it out, it was the perfect shape and size to fit a hole on the control panel, so it was worth a try. Nate plugged it in and the glass case concealing the big red button to freedom, popped open.

Then he noticed that his Pip-Boy screen said _'VAULT DOOR REMOTE ACCESS READY'_

He plugged his plug-in device back into his Pip-Boy and pressed the button.

 _"Vault door cycling sequence initiated. Please stand back."_ the computer ladies voice said, as the bridge extended out and across to the door.

The elevator platform began to lower down.

Nate grabbed two spare, still packaged Vault 111 jumpsuits, for if the one he was wearing got torn up beyond repair out there. He bagged them and walked over the bridge and down the stairs to the elevator. He stepped on and a minute or two later it began to slowly rise up towards the surface again.

 _"Enjoy your return to the surface! We hope to see you again soon!"_ the computer voice said

"Time to face the music then." Nate sighed as the top sealed doors slid open and let in the light. 'How long has it really been since i was last up here ?' Nate wondered to himself as he neared the surface.

The platform finally reached the surface, giving Nate his first look at the post-apocalyptic world he was going to venture out into, and he only had two words to sum up the sight he saw.

"Holy Shit..."

* * *

 _Hey guys, i hope you enjoyed this chapter, so yeah i wanted to atleast give your neighbours from Sanctuary some type of friendship with Nate and Nora, instead of them being like 'oh well see ya!', and with a rucksack it now makes sense for Nate to lug around all that junk (we all horde junk, don't deny it hahah), anyways the next chapter will be with you next week._


	3. Chapter 3: One Grave to Another

_"I know i've already signed up for it Nora, but i'm...i guess i'm having second thoughts about it, y'know ?"_

 _"C'mon hon. You told me before it's something you feel you need to do. To make this country safer, and to protect others. You still want that, right ?"_

 _"I...Yeah. Yeah, i do still want that. I'm just worried that...that i won't make it past the first month, and that i'll have broken your heart over a stupid decision that i could've backed out of..."_

 _"Look...Nate, i know i wasn't thrilled about it before, but...this is what you've wanted for so long, and the truth is...i couldn't be prouder of you! Besides, i know how tough you are, hon." Nora chuckled "You'll survive the end of the world itself!"_

* * *

 _October 28th, 2288..._

"Holy Shit!"

The sight in-front of Nate was familiar, yet completely different at the same time.

He let out a shocked sigh. "Everything's dead..." He muttered in disbelief, as he rubbed his eyes while they re-adjusted to the brightness of the sun again.

The Sky. The sky was the first thing that caught his full attention. There were no clouds in the sky now, and while the sky itself was still blue in colour, it was a much more faded blue than he remembered. And ahead of him in the far distance, many Skyscrapers in the city still stood tall and proud, but yet he could see from where he stood that all the buildings had some massive sections missing and other sections half bent outward looking close to detached, revealing the inner framework of each of the skyscrapers and showing their gradual disintegration.

Of course, then Nate noticed just how bad the shockwave affected every tree for miles. The once lush and beautiful trees and their golden orange leaves home to squirrels and birds, were now partially scorched, missing branches and were absolutely bare. Many were even broken down or uprooted completely by the force of the blast.

As he continued to scan the skyline Nate heard something...odd. Nate could've sworn he'd heard a faint grumbling sound, his eyes scanned the distance eagerly and soon he noticed something off to his right in the far distance. He was absolutely sure he could see a large tinge of green contrasting greatly with the faded blue shade of the sky. It looked like a large cloud, or atleast it resembled one.

There was a flash of...yellow ? And then he witnessed atleast three more strikes occur in the space of about five seconds after the first one. Was that...lightning ? The occasional flash following the rapid-thunder strikes, the faint grumbling sound and the giant cloud form told him that it was most definetly a thunder storm of some kind. But what kind of thunder storm had yellow lightning and turned the sky around it green ?

He stood puzzled as he looked at the strange coloured thunder cloud, and thought to himself "That looks absolutely hazardous...even looks like it might be radioac-"

Then it hit him. That area where the giant cloud was, that was more or less exactly where the mushroom cloud formed after the nuke hit, just before he was lowered into the vault.

"So that's...that's ground zero then ? Damn...It looks like something straight out of hell over there. I really hope i never have to go anywhere near it." Nate hoped to himself, as he tried to focus on other things instead, far more important things.

"So then...how many years must have passed since we entered the Vault ? 50 ? 90 ? 130 ? And more importantly, how long has passed since those assholes came into the Vault and stole Shaun ? God, i hope it hasn't been too long. No...no, couldn't be right ? The pods had been sabotaged, i couldn't have been in that pod longer than a week in the state it was in...Surely." Nate debated in his head before he peeled his thoughts away from that question . in the far distance to his right. He squinted at what he saw and focused hard.

It was only then he started to notice the new looking environment around him. The grassy patches around the fenced off area that were once bright green in colour, were now mostly dead with only a few strands of a darker green lingering here and there. There were even large patches of grass missing, having likely burned or decayed away into nothing, leaving only the bare earth in it's place.

The once pristine bright blue and bright orange Vault-Tec crates scattered around the area were now dulled and rusted, the paint on the crates was peeling off and they were gradually decaying. The skeletons of the security staff and soldiers who died out here that day were completely bleached and what remained of their clothes was completely tattered.

Looking away from the bodies Nate quickly came to notice that through the gnarled and bare corpses of those once lush trees, remained the houses of his old neighbourhood, Sanctuary Hills. He could see that most of the houses were still standing, even after all the devastation and destruction the bombs brought that day.

"Sanctuary..."

Though looking at some of the closest houses to his position Nate could see that some of the houses were missing large pieces of their walls, and that some roofs had caved in. And that one house in particular, off in the far end of Sanctuary had given up completely and embraced it's fate, crumbling in on itself and ending up little more than a scrap heap of warped beams and rusted metal.

Nate looked for his house, and despite knowing roughly where it was, he couldn't get a good look at it from where he was stood. Too many trees blocking his view.

"I wonder if my home is still standing or if it caved in...and Codsworth...would Codsworth have survived ? Mmm...I need to get down there and check the neighbourhood." he thought to himself

He didn't know if his home would still be in good condition or not, but regardless Nate wanted to look for Codsworth...or atleast his remains, aswell as collect some of his personal belongings from there, that he'd stashed long ago, for help in both surviving and in finding Shaun.

Walking off the platform Nate noticed how rusty it'd become since he'd stood on the pristine version not too long ago, and how dull the colour was in some areas. The base of the platform was surrounded by large piles of leaves and branches, and he noticed some more skeletons laying about spread out around the rusted and dented platform control booth a few feet away, some dressed in the tattered and torn remains of their Army fatigues, others in Vault-Tec jumpsuits, and the ramp up into the booth had a soldiers skeleton laying face down in a starfish position on it.

Nate decided to look for anything useful inside to loot, and he found about four wooden crates stacked together with about five Rad-X in each one, along with one extra Stimpak, and a Vault-Tec security helmet on the floor next to the Control Button for the platform. Nate bagged it all and continued on.

As he left the booth Nate noticed a giant construction digger nearby that, apart from some rust here and there and an empty fuel tank looked to be in pretty good condition. He also took note of the red crane that lay toppled against a small caravan...with the right equipment it could be placed back on it's treads and, like the digger, could be used for...well, something. He'd figure out what to do with the equipment when he had Shaun back.

As Nate walked back towards the gate, he stopped and looked behind him, up above at the billboard that was surprisingly still standing. And though the advertisement had been peeling away above him, square by square, it's message was still visible - "Prepared for the future!"

He scoffed as he heard the Vault-Tec Rep's voice repeating the phrase in his head. "Some future! A dead Earth, millions dead and for what ? Though i suppose...even if all these people had been all let in with us, they'd only have suffocated in a small pod anyway...god, what a mess."

When he got closer to the gate Nate found out the fate of the crowd and the soldiers...all dead. He didn't know why he expected anything different, but still...

He found the bodies of the two power armoured soldiers first, they were further back from what was left of the gate entrance, laying against the ground, likely a result of the force of shockwave.

But the odd thing was that while one soldier still had his full T-60d Power Armor pieces attached to his suit's frame, the other soldier that had worn the T-51b Power Armor...well, there was no armor left attached to his frame anymore. There was only the frame of the suit and the soldier's skeleton that remained inside it left. And both the soldiers weapons, the Mini-gun and the long Assault Rifle, were absent from the scene too.

Luckily for Nate, there was still a full suit of T-60d Power Armor laying here that he could try and recover, though upon further inspection he found out that the helmet had a cracked visor and that the chest piece had a large split down the middle, but apart from tha...oh...shit.

Nate noticed just how badly damaged the arm pieces were. The right shoulder piece had a large pole thrust through it, as did the left arm except through the elbow area.

Though the overall damage was pretty bad, Nate was hopeful that could still salvage the suit, but he might have to remove the arms from the frame to do so...failing that, he could always salvage the less damaged parts and use the other frame. He definetly knew how a suit of Power Armor would help him deal with whatever new threats were out here. Then again, he also knew from experience that one man couldn't lift an entire frame off the ground by himself. So he'd need help...or a crane...hmmm.

Nate walked over to the remains of the main gate, and there lay the skeleton of the soldier that'd granted his family entry into the vault...and so many others a certain death. Though Nate realised that he was just following orders, but yet again sometimes orders should be disobeyed if it meant saving more lives...although considering the fate of those in the Vault...was what he did better for them in the end ? Regardless Nate picked up the soldier's Dirty Army Helmet and took it with him, it'd surely prove useful for him.

It was only now, as he walked through the gates main entry point that Nate felt truly horrible and even more sad inside, because surrounding the outside of the fence was a very large pile of skeletons, around about twenty or so in total. He noticed a few of the skeletons had died in each others arms, and he managed to figure out the identity of many individual skeletons, from just the tattered remains of the clothing that they'd worn that morning.

The first few bodies Nate recognised were Mr and Mrs Summer, the Postman who was always cheerful - Joe his name was...and the young couple who were new to Sanctuary, Mr and Mrs Smith...they were some of the ones who still had their arms wrapped around each other.

but then Nate noticed a smaller skeleton laying next to some large rocks...it was little Jimmy...

"Oh god...oh why ? Just _...Fuck!_ Poor little kid..."

Nate found Jimmy's signature red cap laying on the ground in his skeletal little hand, so he picked it up and took it with him.

Seeing all the remains of all his neighbours laying there in piles was truly a tragic sight and a huge loss for Nate, as he personally knew every single person laid here. What hurt him even more was the fact that they'd all died in such a horrible, undeserved way, scared out of their minds...with this gate as the final resting place for so many people...their bodies had been laying here, rotting away for god knows how many years...

Nate started having flashbacks to all these people desperately begging to be let into the safety of the Vault, stressing and panicking in absolute fear and sheer terror, not wanting to face death by the nuclear bomb that was about to drop and claim their lives any moment.

One or two skeletons hands were still clamped tightly onto the chain-link fence, holding their bodies upright, and the fence itself was rusted, bent and split beyond repair.

Nate would definetly come back here at a later point for sure, these people deserved to be buried. But that would have to wait until later, as right now he really needed to search Sanctuary for Codsworth, or any clues leading him towards Shaun's kidnappers...and failing that...food, people, help. Anything!

When he reached the stream Nate noticed how the bridge across was missing nearly all of it's white paintwork and even had a few planks of wood missing here and there, on top of that, he noticing how many trees close-by were split in two.

He walked over the short bridge and up the dusty path leading back into his old neighbourhood, and as he walked up the path he came across Mr & Mrs Donoghue's suitcase, but noticed that their skeletons weren't anywhere nearby...strange...though he paid it no further attention and finally reached the end of the path, walking back onto Sanctuary's now cracked pavement.

Looking around he saw the houses in the neighbourhood up close, and his heart ached as memories flashed in his mind of many great nights he and Nora had spent at each of these houses. Barbeques with the Able's. Cards and Cigars with the Whitfield's. Drinks with the Parker's. Watching the game with the Washington's. All the kids out playing every morning, running up and down the street, laughing and playing together happily, while the parents were happily chatting away.

Nate rubbed his head and put his other hand on his hip, and thought to himself - "I'll never have any of that ever again now..."

When he looked around now all he saw was the remains of his once bright and lively neighbourhood. Every house in sight was missing something. Whether it was front doors, windows, pieces of walls missing or holes and gaps in roofs where panels and tiles should be. Looking at the house directly across the road from him he saw that its roof had completely split in half when it had caved in.

That's when he heard it. That very familiar 'Clunk' sound that only a Mr Handy's thruster could make. His head snapped to the left quicker than he thought was possible.

"Is that Codsworth ?" he asked himself, almost feeling excitement!

He started to walk up the road until he was stood just down the street from his house. From what he could see right now, he could say that it certainly faired better than most of the other houses, that was for sure. But unfortunately he saw no Codsworth...maybe he just imagined hearing that 'clunk' sound...

As he stood there looking at his home, he started having visions of him and Nora tending to the lawn. "What is this ? Am i starting to los- **'Clunk'**

"..."

"No, i definetly heard that..." Nate thought to himself. Although this time it sounded like it came from the house next door, the one Holly and Gabby lived in.

Nate walked over to one of the houses windows and peered inside through the broken window pane. That's when he heard the 'Clunk' sound once again. He turned his head out and looked back towards his house and this time he saw him! he actually saw Codsworth!

The Mister Handy hovered past the bedroom window of Nate and Nora's room over to the front lawn, having appeared from the back yard.

"You survived! Oh thank god!" Nate thought to himself, only to then think about it even more. "...and you've been left here all alone this whole time ever since we vanished..." Because this neighbourhood was a ghost town as far as Nate could see.

Codsworth casually started trimming the colourless, dead hedges with his buzz saw, having apparently not noticed old master the next house down.

Nate cautiously walked over to the Mister Handy, because after all this time what if Codsworth had ended up going crazy ? What if one too-many of his circuits had fried up and he wasn't the same anymore ?

So, in a unsure, but relieved tone he asked " _Codsworth ?_ "

All three of Codsworth's eyes turned towards him immediately and his eyes 'pupils' as you would describe them, all expanded as wide as they could go, and the Mister Handy quickly replied - "As i live and breath...Mister Johnson! Oh, It's... ** _IT'S REALLY YOU!_** " - His response sounding shocked at first, then sounding absolutely overjoyed and relieved.

All Nate's worries here instantly swept aside now.

"Codsworth! You're...you're still here ? You're still...still functional!" Nate said, sounding slightly shocked, yet relieved above anything else.

"Well, _of course_ i'm still here, Sir! Surely you don't think a little nuclear blast could deter the pride of General Atomics International ? Ha! Poppycock!" Codsworth proudly stated as he waved his pincer dismissively in the air.

"-And pardon me for saying so, but you seem the worse for wear, Sir!" Codsworth told him, before giving a little chuckle. "-Best not let the 'missus' see you in that state, huh...um...where is the missus by the way ?" Codsworth curiously asked, changing his tone mid-sentence.

Nate felt a chill go down his spine hearing Codsworth ask that, as he now had to inform him of the devastating news...So he sadly answered. "We were in the Vault and those...those **Monsters!** They...she's gone. She's gone away to a better place, Codsworth."

Codsworth took a moment to process the sentence he'd just heard, and replied - "Uh, wha...Sir...these things you're saying. These terrible things...i...i believe you need a distraction. Yes! A distraction to calm this...this dire mood. It's been ages since we've had a good old proper family activity. Checkers ? Or, perhaps charades ? Young master Shaun does so love that game, ah-ha-ha! Is the lad, uh...with you ?" Codsworth hesitantly asked, unintentionally rubbing more salt into Nate's still fresh wounds.

Nora gulped and tried to contain his emotions right now. "No...those bastards took him! They took my boy and they...Shaun's been kidnapped Codsworth! Some people came into the Vault and they...they killed Nora, and then kidnapped Shaun. And i...i...i couldn't stop them. I was trapped in this...this Cryo Stasis pod. But i'm going to go and find him, no matter what this new world throws at me." Nate said to Codsworth. Trying to bottle his emotions up again, as he was currently feeling a mix of many emotions right now. Anger being the main emotion.

His knuckles began to turn white and his hands curled tightly into balls, as he recalled the bald-man's face again...before he finally managed to calm himself down.

Codsworth positioned two of his arms in such a way that resembled a human with their hands on their hips and said - "It's worse than i thought! Hmm...I'd say you're suffering from hunger-induced paranoia. Not eating properly for 200 years will do that to you i'm afraid." Codsworth summarised after a few seconds, giving another chuckle.

Nate's eyes looked like they almost popped out of their sockets at the mention of the time jump, and his eyebrows almost flew off the top of his forehead. " **T-TWO HUNDRED YEARS ?!** What ?! No. No, that can't be right...je-can it ?" Nate asked in a completely surprised tone.

"Actually, it's uh, a bit over 210 years actually, Sir. Give or take a little for the Earth's rotation and some minor dings to the ole' chronometer, ha-ha!." Codsworth said, correcting himself giving himself a few taps on the top of his head in reference to his chronometer.

Nate stood there in silence, looking absolutely gobsmacked!

Having noticed that Codsworth decided a joke might help ease the information into his master's head. "So that means you're two centuries late for dinner! Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Before his basic service routines kicked in and he offered his master something, also noting how pale his skin looked. "-Perhaps i can whip you up a snack or a drink, Sir ? You must be famished."

Nate looked up at him, moving his focus away from the revelation of how much time had passed since the bomb fell. He also took a second to process what Codsworth had asked.

"What ? Food...Drink ? Yeah, i...i need a minute to think..." Nate admitted, noticing how empty his stomach felt all of a sudden.

"Then i'll be right back!" Codsworth exclaimed as he hovered away towards the door, casually humming the tune to 'Royal Britania' as he removed a key from a compartment on the lower section of his large body. With it in his pincer hand he opened the door and hovered inside the home.

While Nate stood out there he took a proper opportunity to look at the outside of his home, and observe all the damage it'd been dealt throughout these 200 years. And while it had seen better days Nate's home was still standing, and unlike other houses, it showed no visible signs of crumpling inward or outward any time soon.

Nate was actually quite impressed. It'd fought against the shockwave from a nuclear blast, as well as all the elements it'd endured over all those years since he had been forced to run away from this very place.

A few of the blue panels on the walls had fallen off, all the windows were smashed understandably, leaves covered the base of the home, as well as the driveway and the steps. Some of the once white metal on the upper section of the roof had been bent quite a great deal, and like other houses many tiles had detached and left massive gaps. But that seemed about it for the outside damage.

"Mister Johnson." Codsworth said, snapping Nate out of his daydream-like trance.

"Yeah, Codsworth ?"

"Here you are, Sir!" Codsworth said, as he rotated his claw arm around from his back, towards Nate, and handed him a box of Sugar Bombs.

"Oh, thanks Codsworth!" Nate said gratefully as he started munching on the contents of the box.

Codsworth meanwhile raised his pincer hand to his front eye, as if to imitate someone holding their chin - "Now, i've been thinking. If something is amiss...your loved ones may simply be hiding, from... _THE RED MENACE!_ " Codsworth said with a dramatic voice. "-You know, the Communists! The Russians **AND** the Chinese!" Codsworth added, just to clarify. Apparently not able to accept what Nate had told him about his family as the truth.

Nate let out a sigh. "I kinda doubt that, buddy. I don't think the Reds are gonna be a threat anymore." He said, not wanting to be mean or rude to his only remaining friend, and the only form of companionship he had left right now.

Codsworth did the same thing with his pincer again, and then said - "Well any-hoo, i have an idea. Let's search the neighbourhood together! After all, the missus and young Shaun, well they're...they're my family too." Codsworth said with a concerned tone.

Instead of trying to force the truth into the Mister Handy's CPU Nate just decided to go along with it for now, Codsworth would just have to discover and accept the truth in his own time...yet, something about him seemed...off. So Nate decided to try and find out why.

"Codsworth, are you sure you're holding up okay ? You're acting a bit weird...what's wrong ?"

The robotic butler remained silent for a good minute or two before he found his voice again.

"I...I...I...Oh, Sir! It's been just _horrible!_ **Two** **centuries** with no one to _talk_ to, no one to _serve_! I spent the first **TEN YEARS** trying to keep the floors waxed, but nothing gets out nuclear fallout from vinyl wood. _Nothing!_ And don't get me started about the futility of dusting a collapsed house. _And your car!_ _Your_ **_CAR!_** How do you polish _**RUST?!**_ " Codsworth practically screamed in sadness.

Nate tried to imagine what that would've been like for Codsworth. His programming for keeping everything perfect, being met with failure every time must've drove him near crazy in the first YEAR, never mind the other two-hundred and nine! And all those years without someone to talk to, it was truly a wonder how he didn't go crazy.

"And then...then...Oh! I don't remember it all!" Codsworth tried to tell him some more information but felt so ashamed at his failure that he stopped mid-sentence, and over-reacted a little.

Nate waved his hand in front of Codsworth's eyes as the robot started flailing about in sadness about how he failed in his only job - "Hey, stay with me pal. _Focus_! Just try and remember everything you can, okay. Take your time. I'm here now, and i'm never leaving you again. Got that ?" Nate told the butler to try and help calm him down. And it worked.

"I do, Sir...back when the bombs dropped, and all of you left in such a hurry...I'd thought for certain you and your family would have perished in the blast, but i could never bring myself to go up the hill to confirm it for myself. When the shockwave from the nuclear bomb hit the house the force of it violently threw me across the room, and i was smashed against the kitchen counter with such force that i was rendered offline for 3 whole days before i managed to reboot. By that point i discovered that i already had a few dents and scratches...and so i did the only thing that i could do...to try and fix everything for when you all would return...and, well..."

Nate felt horrible for Codsworth, finding out that he went through all of that pain in the time he was gone.

"I'm so sorry you were alone all that time Codsworth, i really truly am." Nate sincerely said.

Codsworth responded with a sniffing sound. The type you make when your nose has been running quite a bit due to the cold or emotions. - "Thank you, Sir. When i...i...oh, oh no...oh Sir, my memory banks have just recollected a truly horrible memory deep within my data-banks...one i tried to erase...it was about your dog, sir...your missing dog, young Alfie. I'm...i'm afraid he did return here...but just after you all had left, right before the bomb hit you see. I was trying to safe as many of your possessions as it could before the bomb fell and then i saw him in the doorway...and then...the bomb fell and the shockwave hit and...i never found him again after that!"

Nate felt his heart ache even more as he pictured the scene in his mind.

"So Alfie...he...he came back ? Just to find us already gone, and then he got...he...oh no...God damn it!" Nate muttered as he felt his tears start up again, and he wasn't sure now if the pain would ever stop at all. There was so much to process. Nora, Shaun, Everyone in Sanctuary, this new world, Shaun's kidnappers, Codsworth alone all those years...and now Alfie coming back, only to die seconds later...

Codsworth spoke up again, pulling him from his thoughts again - "Sir...I...just after you all left, before the young hound had returned...i hurried to save as many of the most treasured items you and the missus kept as i possibly could, by storing them in your personal safe in the island safe...but with just this one little claw, i...i couldn't save it all, Sir! I did try my best though!"

"It's okay Codsworth, you don't need to worry about that." Nate said

"Regardless, Sir, i'd like for you to have the key to the safe. You may find some joy in what you find, or atleast feel happy to still have certain objects in your possession." Codsworth suggested as he handed Nate a golden key which he pulled from another of his compartments.

"Thank you Codsworth, i'll be glad to have some things to remind me of the old world here with me." Nate said, as he took the key from Codsworth's pincer.

"One last thing, sir. I did find this holotape. I believe the missus was going to present it to you. As a surprise...but then, well...everything happened!" Codsworth wailed in his sadness, pulling a Holotape out of another compartment from the back of his dome. If robots could cry then Codsworth would be close to balling his eyes out right now by the sounds of it.

"A holotape from Nora ? What's on it ?" Nate asked with a surprised, yet also sad tone, feeling rather curious about when she'd recorded it and what she'd said in it.

"I believe it's a private message for you. My etiquette protocols wouldn't permit me to play it for myself." Codsworth answered with the same tone.

"Any standard Holotape reading devices should allow you to play it back. Ah, like that fancy Pip-Boy on your wrist, that should work brilliantly!" Codsworth informed Nate, forcing himself to sound cheerier again in an attempt to make his master happier again.

"Thank you, Codsworth!" Nate said, smiling for the first time since...yeah.

Codsworth made the sniffing noise again, "You...You're welcome.", and then gave himself a burst of motivation...and denial. "Now. Enough feeling sorry for myself! Shall we search the neighbourhood together ? The missus and young Shaun may turn up yet." Codsworth said, sounding cheerful and determined.

Those words gave Nate a small chuckle...one he didn't realise he needed before. "Sure, lets do that, buddy."

"Proud to serve, Sir!" Codsworth happily announced, saluting with his pincer hand before he took off hovering down the road towards the cul-de-sac houses, humming away to himself again.

"Come on sir! We can take them!" Codsworth yelled as they approached the first house, one next to Nate's.

Nate heard a lot of loud buzzing inside and when they entered he saw something...something bigger than his head, flying about in one of the rooms. He took a closer look and...was that a...was that a giant fly ?! More than one! Lots of giant flies! This world's new dangers got even weirder as he explored more. What was next ? Giant mosquitos ?

" **POW!** " Codsworth yelled as he sawed one in half, and then unleashed a large amount of fire onto the next two giant flies! "Whoa! When did Codsworth have a flame-thrower ? Didn't he only had a very small flame for lighting stoves before ?!" Nate immediately thought to himself, feeling shocked and then amazed at the sight.

"I believe that was all of the-Wait! My sensors are picking up movement in another house! C'mon then, Sir! Tally-ho!" Codsworth exclaimed as he zoomed back out the front door.

Codsworth floated away out the door and straight across the street to one of the other still standing houses in the cul-de-sac area of Sanctuary. The human and the robot entered and found another two giant flies, along with three of those giant cockroaches - all battling one another.

"Peek-a-boo!" Codsworth quipped as he sliced the closest fly in half and cooked two roaches with his flamer. Nate stamped on the last cockroach and quickly shot the last fly square in the centre, which caused it to blow apart into small chunks.

"Hmm. Tasty..." Nate muttered as he wiped the bottom of his boot along the floor, to get the cockroach parts off.

Codsworth hovered on the spot and looked around silently, until he turned to his master and said - "Sir...i...the missus and young Shaun...they really aren't here...they're...they're really gone! Aren't they ? Oh dear...oh dear, oh i'm so sorry, sir! Heaven knows how i must've been making you feel! You must feel so upset and i'll have only ended up making you feel even worse...oh goodness me!" Codsworth wailed, finally getting it. Finally realising the truth...

"You didn't do anything wrong, Codsworth...and Shaun's still out there, buddy...somewhere." Nate said, forcing himself to give his buddy a smile as he began walking around the large pile of appliances and furniture from the house that were all conveniently stacked in the middle of the room like a barrier. Nate looked out the window across Sanctuary's stream, towards the Concord water tower.

"I'm gonna find him, no matter where he is, nothing will stop me from getting him back." Nate said with his back still to Codsworth, as he continued looking out into the distance.

"Well what about Concord, Sir ? There's plenty of people there! And last i checked, they only pummelled me with sticks and rocks a few times before i had to retreat back here." Codsworth suggested, adding some well needed and well-timed sarcasm to the conversation.

His sarcasm worked, because Nate tried to hide the smirk that had grown on his face, before he himself replied "Then i guess we should go see if they're more willing to talk with me there."

"Um, but Sir, wouldn't you rather i stayed here to secure the neighbourhood incase any intruders try and rob the home-front ?" Codsworth inquired.

"In all those 200 years did anyone try that before Codsworth ?" Nate turned to ask him.

"Well...there have been some kind individuals who passed-by or simply wanted a place to sleep for the night...but no, if i remember everything correctly then no, i suppose there hasn't...But-"

Nate raised his hand in a calming position and told him "-Codsworth, I don't think anyone will show up here anytime soon, buddy. Besides, we're just gonna go there to see if anyone there has any idea where my boy or his kidnappers are, or at the very least, for some supplies. We'll only be gone for about an hour or two and then we'll come back here. So we should be fine to leave this place for that short amount of time.", before admitting something to his robot friend - "Besides i'd really appreciate your company Codsworth. I wouldn't want either of us to be alone again after this y'know."

"Of course, yes, you're right, Sir! Excellent idea! When shall we depart ?" Codsworth asked

"Well it's about mid-day...lets say about...half an hour from now. I'd like to examine all the damage done to the inside of the house." Nate said as Codsworth cheerfully agreed and they both returned back over to their house.

Stood back outside his home Nate looked it over again and exhaled before walking towards the door.

When he opened the half-closed door and took his first look inside he thought to himself "It's not that bad to be honest."

That was a half-truth. It was pretty bad.

The floor being all ripped up and discoloured. There were piles of leaves all over the floor, having blown in through the large windowless frames, the missing sections of the kitchen walls or fallen through the ceiling gaps. The windows were all smashed, and all the furniture, mainly the couch and the armchair were torn up and faded in colour. All the seats had singed sections with atleast one broken leg.

The table and drawers next to the island were on their sides or overturned. The table chairs were missing their upper section or had bent legs. The light above the island was half attached, the holotape player was on its back and the fireplace was completely singed, and the back door was detached and laid on the driveway floor...it wasn't as bad as Nate thought it would be, but it would take some proper elbow grease to fix this all.

When he started to walk towards the hallway to inspect the other rooms he spotted something on top of the kitchen island. It was his Grognak comic-book! He felt like he'd read it only a few hours ago. Well, to him it _was_ a few hours ago...It was sat there, in same spot, and only slightly tinged around the edges. He flipped through the pages and gave a small smile at the cartoon drawings inside.

Putting down the comic-book he walked down the hallway and into the bathroom, which he had to admit looked almost completely intact, with the only damage being the mirror cabinet being cracked and slanted, with all the contents having expired, and half having fallen out and landing in the sink. The toilet only had one notable change, with the seat having become slanted to one side now. The shower curtain had became singed at the bottom, and the shower head had slipped out of its holder and smashed against the floor, and Nora's make-up box in the corner had also detached and hit the floor. But over-all the bathroom seemed fine.

The storage room with the washer and dryer had basically been untouched apart from a few signed parts on the front of them.

Nate walked down to the end of the hall and into Shaun's room.

As soon as he entered the room he saw Shaun's crib, toppled on it's side with its spinning-mobile partly broken and having lost a lot of the bright blue paintjob. He went over and grabbed it up, setting it back on it's feet. Then when he started looking around the room he noticed Shaun's little Teddy Bear among all Shaun's other toys laying all over the floor, like his toy cars, his rattles and his glove and baseball. He picked up the teddy bear up from the floor and held it in both hands, and stared down at it, and he had to force himself to not brake down yet again.

The other things in Shaun's room, like his clothes hamper had ended up in the storage cupboard in the hallway as the wall section behind it was broken down. The cupboard in Shaun's room was missing its door and all the games inside were opened up and scattered inside the cupboard space. Shaun's spaceship rug was torn and faded, and the little table and lamp were both completely broken in the corner. Lastly, Shaun's nappy changing table was missing a few drawers and both its two front legs were broken, leaving it face down on the floor. Nate did however notice the 'You're S.P.E.C.I.A.L' book half crushed underneath it and picked it up out from under it, casually flicking through the pages before sitting it back down next to Teddy.

Now he turned and walked into his and Nora's room, and he instantly thought that this room was the most affected of the lot...

There were two drawers in the room, one was against the wall to Nate's left, and like the others it had individual missing drawers, missing two legs and had been blown onto its side, while the other one which had previously been up against the window was now discovered to be laying on top of the bed, almost completely demolished. The arm-chair was singed and torn, aswell as currently being upside down, whilst the other chair...one from the table set of chairs, which had been sat in the other corner was on its side and missing its backrest.

And lastly was the Bed frame, or rather its remains...it had buckled and given way, its wood too rotted to hold it up any longer, the mattress was manky and split open, with the remains of a drawer laying on top of it, and the yellow covers and pillows were both crumpled, singed, torn and damp from the constant rain falling through the holes in the ceiling. The fabrics were now just laying there on the far side of the room, just in-front of the wardrobe.

Nate looked towards the door and yelled through, "Hey Codsworth! I'd like to just take a minute to myself through here, is that all right ?"

"Of course Sir! I shall be here in the kitchen when you're ready to go!" Came Codsworth's reply, simply turning up his voice's volume so that he could be heard the first time.

Another sigh escaped Nate's lips as he lifted the toppled arm-chair off the ground and set it back on it's feet in the corner. He sat down and looked down at the Holotape that Nora had recorded for him that he got from Codsworth. He looked at it just sitting there in his palm for a minute or two before he clicked open his Pip-Boy's Holotape slot, and inserted it in and closed it up, pressing the play button.

There was a feedback sound as soon as it started playing.

 _"Oh. Oopsie, ha-ha-ha. Ah, no, no, no. Little fingers away. There we go. Okay, just say it. Right there. Right there. Go ahead, sweetie."_ Nate felt a smile form again at the sweet sound of Nora's voice, he felt it grow even more so when he heard his little boy start giggling, and then heard the both of them giggling together happily.

 _"Hahahahaha, ah! Yay! Hi Honey! Listen...i don't think Shaun and i need to tell you, how great of a father you are...but we're going to anyway! Isn't that right, Shaun ?"_ Nora's sweet voice said with so much happiness evident in her voice.

Nate felt a tear or two running down his cheeks already, with more already on the way.

 _"You are kind, and loving-"_

She said, accompanied by the sound of Shaun laughing away happily.

 _"And funny, ha-ha! That's right! And...patient, sooo patient. Patience of a Saint, my mum used to say."_

"Oh god, Nora...god, i'm so sorry..." Nate said silently, struggled to even whisper the words, because he was so choked up now.

 _"Look, with Shaun, and Alfie, and Codsworth, and us all being at home together...It's been an amazing year. But, even so, i know our best days are yet to come! There'll be changes, sure. Things we'll need to adjust to. You'll re-join the civilian work force, and, i'll shake the dust off my law degree. But everything we do, no matter how hard, we do it for our family."_

"Our...our Family..." Nate said through silent sobs.

 _"Now, say goodbye Shaun, say bye to Daddy...Bye bye ? Say buh bye ?" - Shaun giggled some more._

 _"Hahaha! Bye honey! We love you!"_ Nora's beautiful voice said, for the very last time...

More feedback came through again, and now the holotape came to it's end.

"..."

With all those memories flooding back, and the reminder of how it all started...of how it survived and grew...everything they did together, and for one another...and how it finally led up to right now...with just Nate, sat here alone.

It was all too much for him to deal with...the loss of his beloved and all his neighbours, the kidnapping of his son, the almost-lifeless, irradiated new world he lived and breathed in now. So Nate did the only thing anyone would do in his place...he let go of his hold on his emotions...let those tears blur his vision, and roll down his cheeks like a waterfall, as he began to quietly sob in his seat.

 **It wasn't fair!**

...

 _It wasn't fair..._

...

It wasn't fair.

* * *

 _Hey everyone, so yeah with this chapter i decided to have Codsworth store some of Nate and Nora's pre-war stuff, so that he can use them for defense or just to keep as memories to remind him of better times. And it always annoyed me that Codsworth wouldn't follow you into Concord at first to help his only remaining family, so i changed that up too._

 _Anyway, like usual i hope you enjoyed!_


	4. Chapter 4: Better Times

_**Hey all, so this chapter is purely focusing on Nate and Nora's past, and their best memories up until the bombs fell. Looking back on it now, perhaps i crammed too much in here, but i like to try and let you know about every little detail i guess. I messed with the Lore a tinsy bit, but not so much that it'll be confusing.**_

 _ **I know this is a really long chapter, but hopefully you can stuck through it all hahah**_

 _ **So anyway, i hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

Nate was sat there, in his old bedroom - alone. Mindlessly rotating Nora's last holotape in his hand as he started blankly at the bed, just completely zoned out. Taking this one moment of calm to cast his mind back to many...many years ago, to remember all of those amazingly wonderful memories he had shared with Nora...and the very first time they met.

* * *

 _2065_

 _Boston_

 _D.B Technical High School_

 _..._

 _One by one, the high school students - both new and returning, were all_ _entering their classes for the day's first subject. S_ _ome reluctantly, others enthusiastically, some even nervous_ _ly._

 _In room 101, once he had taken the register and was satisfied that all but one of his students were present, the new teacher addressed the class and introduced himself._

 _"Good morning class, welcome to Mathematics. My name is Mr. Atherton, and I'll be your new teacher for the year, as Mr. Roberts has retired."_

 _..._

 _Nathan Arthur Johnson, a 17 year old trouble-maker, was walking down the corridor with four of his childhood best friends, happily chatting away about the newest films or some new rumour going around the school, unaware of the time.._

 _Parting ways for each of their own separate morning classes, Nathan opened the door to his first class, not realising just how late for class he already was._

 _He was wearing a pair of large headphones that covered his ears up entirely, with Rock music blaring away, possibly louder than he'd thought it had been._

 _Nate stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a loud muffled noise._

 _He looked around the room and noticed all the other students all turn to look at him. It was then he noticed the teacher, who was already looking at him and obviously saying something that Nate couldn't hear at all._

 _So, he hesitantly pull his headphones down off his ears and brought them down to rest on his neck. It was now that he realised exactly why he had received those looks. He turned off his headphones and looked back up to face the teacher, whom already had his hand outstretched with a unimpressed look on his face._

 _"I presume you are Nathan Johnson, yes ? I'll have that for the rest of the day, then." He said, eyeing Nate's music device._

 _" **Fuck**. Um...Sorry i'm late, Sir." Nate muttered, as he reluctantly handed over his music device._

 _"Being late for your first subject of the year isn't a very good start, young man. Make sure it doesn't happen again, now take a seat up back." Mr. Atherton told him._

 _Nate grumpily took his seat at the back of the class, without really paying anyone else any attention whatsoever._

 _Mr Atherton began the days lesson, which **already** felt like it would drag on forever, clearing his throat, he began - "Now then class, lets get started. You'll find a book on each of-"_

 _"Hey. Excuse me ?" a girls voice quietly spoke up from Nate's right._

 _He turned to look at her. "Oh my god!" He thought. She was...beautiful! Much different looking than the other girls in the class, but far more beautiful!_

 _She had shoulder length 'Agent X' styled dark brown hair, doing well to cover her pale skin. Her black eye-liner matched her jet black lipstick perfectly. She had a small nose ring, and sported black stud piercings on both her ear lobes...and yet the most stand-out feature about her, was the big blue eyes she had that you could just get lost in._

 _All the things that made her stand out from the other girls only made her so much more stunning to look at, Nate thought to himself in pure amazement. Even something as small and simple as how she was chewing her chewing gum made her so...appealing!_

 _The girl's style did even more for her individuality though. She wore a black and grey hoodie accompanied by a classic Punisher t-shirt underneath. She wore some dark green skinny jeans, topped off with some worn red converses._

 _"Um...Hi. So, this might seem random. But who was that band you were listening to on your holotape player ? It's just, well they sounded really familiar." she asked him_

 _"yeah, uh...it was Guns N' Roses. Why, do you like them ?" Nate answered in slight confusion, this felt strange to him because, apart from his friends, nobody usually liked his music choice enough to ask him about it. And yet, here was this new girl asking about it._

 _"Oh! Awesome! Yeah, i love them! It's nice to find someone else here who likes them! I didn't think there was anyone else in this school that actually listened to any of the music from like, 70-ish years ago. So, um, how come you're not like all these other losers here who listen to that 'modern' shit ?" she asked, resting her elbow on her desk now, with her cheek resting firmly in her palm,_ _taking a moment to admire him._

 _This dude had short chestnut brown coloured hair, wore a DB Tech Varsity hooded jacket with pride, wearing a plain black undershirt, He stood out like her too, as he favoured some simple brown khakis and purple high-tops instead of the countless dark jeans and brown boots that she'd seen nearly every other boy here wearing so far._

 _" **Excuse me!** " Nate thought he heard someone say, but 'Fuck it!' he thought and just ignored it._

 _"Well, cause all the music these today is just boring, generic electronic beeps and singers who haven't even hit puberty yet. It's an insult to good music, and it all needs to rewind back 60-ish years or so, and give us some actually talented singers and musicians." Nate answered her, being completely honest with her._

 _The girl was already pretty impressed and thought to herself 'Wow! Ha!_ _I knew he was worth talking to_ _!" - And s_ _he smiled at him, and oh my, did her smile instantly gave Nate butterflies._

 _"Finally! Someone around here that gets it like i do, hahah! Um...My name's Nora, by the way." she told him, making the first move of the two, now making full on eye contact with him._

 _"Oh...wow, She...she has a cute name." Nate thought to himself, and figured that he'd really try to earn his brownie points here, saying - "That's quite a cu-Um, nice name. I'm Nate, but uh, i guess you'll know that part already, courtesy of the big ol' bore over there. But it's nice to meet you, Nora." Nate said to her, choosing to show off both his sarcastic side and his charming side as he introduced himself to her, to try and make her laugh...and, to hopefully impress her._

 _" **Excuse** **me, you two ?!** "_

 _"Oh my god! He thinks i have a nice name ? That's so sweet! And so cute!" Nora thought to herself. Just as uncaring about the voice as Nate was, having something better to focus on._

 _"Oh...um, really ? Do you think it's a nice name ? I always thought it made me sound like an old person..." Nora admitted, dissing herself jokingly to see how he'd react, cracking another smile again at the sheer cuteness of this guy already, even letting out a cute little giggle._

 _"Yeah, i do think it's a nice name. Honest. Trust me, it suits you." Nate told her honestly, now looking her back in her eyes, and holding eye contact with her for a few seconds. To see how she'd react, though making sure not to come off as a bit creepy in doing so._

 _" **RIGHT!** Both of you, i'd like a word outside. **NOW!** This is **Outrageous!** On your first day too no less, and not even a full hour in!" Mr. Atherton yelled at the two of them._

 _They now both suddenly snapped back around to join the class and both looked over at the teacher, instantly cutting off their conversation. Only just now trying to act like they were innocent and had been paying him the attention he'd so desperately sought from them._

 _But he pointed his arm towards the door with a furious expression on his face._

 _Nora just sighed and rolled her eyes, whilst Nate muttered rude remarks about him. They both left their seats and left the classroom without another word._

 _As soon as they were in the hallway Nate just let loose. - "Jesus, i can't stand that fat fuck already...Ugh..." But looking over at her just leaning against the wall quietly, he thought of something else he could use this time for._

 _"Hey. So, look...uh, I know we literary only just started talking to each other like five minutes ago, and that we only really talked because of a band we both like but, um...you really do seem like someone i'd get along great with, and someone i'd like to get to know better...so, outta curiosity, what're you doing at lunch-time ? Cause, uh...well, maybe you and your friends could, i dunno...hang out with me and my friends ?" Nate bravely asked Nora_

 _She just turned and looked at him with a blank expression for a few seconds and then looked back away, giving a small shrug._

 _"I, um...I don't really have any friends...cause i'm still kinda new here and all. So, uh...yeah. Right now i'm kind of a loner. No one's really bothered to talk to me though, and most people just kinda seem to avoid me anyways to be honest. But honestly ? I'm kinda fine with that. I don't really care about most of the people here for that reason. Besides, y'know, most of them seem like bullies, or nerds or sluts or whatever anyways. And like, they seem like people i don't really want to get to know anyways. But...not you. You well...you're the first person to actually stand out among everyone here. That's kinda the whole reason why i bothered to actually speak to you in the first place, as in like, **properly** speak to - And on top of that, you're the first student here that's actually bothered to say anything back to me too." Nora answered_

 _Nate tilted his head now when he looked back at her, he couldn't understand how no-one around school seemed to like or care about this pretty cool girl...well, scratch that. He did know why! This school consisted mostly of just rude douche-bags, slutty-bitchy-cheerleaders, and greasy loner nerds, who only really cared about themselves in all honesty._

 _"Well most people here aren't worth speaking to anyways to be honest, but...even still, that's pretty fucked up that no-one's even **tried** to speak to you yet, cause honestly ? You seem great! Anyway, my offer still stands by the way, so c'mon. Why don't you come and hang out with me and my friends at lunch then. I promise you they're all pretty friendly, cool people like me, and they all appreciate the same music as we both do. So, you in ?"_

 _Nora blinked at him a couple of times, and her eyes almost sparkled in the light, to Nate. "R-Really ? You...you mean it ? I-I'm normally really pretty quiet an all, it's just...well. You're sure ?" she asked in honest surprise. This was all new, to her._

 _"Yeah, of course i mean it! And look i understand if you're nervous about being super quiet and shy and maybe making a bad first impression around my friends if you came to hang out with us, but they're honestly really chill and non-judgemental and very friendly people. But if you want, at lunch-time we could just go off alone instead ? Just the two of us, and we could chill out listening to music together! If we did that then we'd both atleast get to know each other even better, and even quicker that way anyway! So...Deal ?" Nate said, offering a good deal to her, and giving her a few options straight off the bat._

 _Nora quickly thought it all over in her head, and then she smiled wide at him, and answered. "Deal!"_

* * *

Coming back to reality for just a moment, Nate had a little chuckle to himself briefly as he recollected the day he'd first met Nora.

"Oh...god, Nora...i still can't believe the whole reason we started talking in the first place is cause i was late and we both had that unique taste in music, heh-heh-heh. Oh, god, and i can still remember how quiet and nervous you were when you first met the gang...you were so worried about making a bad first impression, but they liked you almost instantly, and then you were so much more talkative the day after that, and you seemed so much happier because of it! And when it was just us two, my god we just...we couldn't stop chatting, and we always ended up laughing until our sides ached, eh...damn near suffocated ourselves, didn't we ?" Nate remembered as he sniffed and tried his best to hold back the tears.

"And you were my best friend."

Nate knew he might hurt himself more in doing so, but then he just scoffed at that thought.

"I don't think anything can hurt more than this..." he muttered to himself.

So, he chose to just let himself remember more of the good times he'd shared with her.

* * *

 ** _5 months after they first met..._**

 _Nate and Nora walked out of the Warren cinema. They had just seen a film that was so damn awesome! It had the perfect blend of action, well-written dialogue and plenty of eye candy. So now the two walked into the Foodstuffs store just next door, where there was plenty of fresh food to choose from. Eventually the pair settled on getting a pepperoni pizza to share, agreeing to take half each._

 _ **(I know it's a theatre in-game, but i felt there should be a cinema near their school, and it in-game is just down the street from D.B. T anyway)**_

 _They enjoyed a brief walk to the north, going past the brand new Boston Pinnacle Theatre, and all the way down the street until they reached Duck Pond - a large and beautiful blue pond, made complete with two Swan styled Peddle Boats for couples to use to row around the pond._

 _The two of them sat down on the grass and began to eat their pizza together._ _They listened to the music on Nate's holotape player and just...talked...talked about anything in general really. In these last five months the pair had gotten to know each other so much more, and grown so close, and realised that they had even more in common with each other than either would have ever thought possible..._

 _There were only two slices of pizza left now, and when he realised this, well...Nate had to remind himself to take a deep breath and stay calm for what he was about to ask Nora now._

 _He'd never felt this nervous before in his life, but this was something he knew he wanted to do!_

 _Nate cleared his throat and turned to look at her._

 _..._

 _"Nora. So listen, i uh, i was wondering, if...look, we've known each other for five whole months now, and in that time we've gotten along really, really well together. We have so much in common, way more than i ever expected us to, and there's never been a negative moment between us. But i'm honestly so glad that we have all these things in common and that we've never really fallen out or anything, because it's made us the very best of friends, and i think we might know one another better than anyone else we know does. So...what i'm saying...what i'm trying to say is..._ _Is that i really, really like you, Nora, and i was wondering if you...wanted to be more than just friends ?" Nate finally summoned the courage to ask his longtime crush._

 _Making sure he was maintaining eye contact the whole time he was speaking to her, and only breaking said eye contact when he found himself pausing due to his nerves._

 _..._

 _The second she heard those words come out of his mouth, Nora's eyes instantly shot wide open in disbelief, and for a few seconds she wasn't aware of the fact that her mouth was hanging half open, and even though she'd heard Nate crystal clear her brain was still taking it's time to process if the words she had just heard were indeed really just spoken or not._

 _Then...it finally clicked in her head that she wasn't dreaming and that she hadn't misheard. This was **real!** This was **actually** happening!_

 _She felt herself become overwhelmed with a certain type of happiness and cheerfulness, on a level that she knew she hadn't felt before. It was at this moment though, that she realised that she was taking too long to give Nate any form of an answer, so, knowing what she'd decided, she quickly forced herself to answer._

 _Shouting -_ _" **YES! YES! Oh my god! YES!** " in Nate's face loudly, and full of excitement, before she suddenly realised how loud she was there, and looked a bit embarrassed now. Her cheeks turned more and more red every passing second, knowing that she'd just shouted out loud and attracted the attention of most of the people around the pond._

 _"Oh, God, that wasn't too weird, o-or too much of an overreaction, was it ?" she asked, half laughing at herself. But before Nate could even give her a response, she started over -_

 _"Okay, um, i'm gonna try that again, ha-ha." Nora said, and cleared her throat. "Yes, Nate. I would love to be more than friends. These last few months have been amazing for me too, and i'm honestly so happy that we both feel this way about one another! So yes! A fucking million times - Yes!" Nora happily laughed, suddenly feeling so hyper, wide awake and feeling much more active. She was in love with this feeling._

 _Nate smiled widely and then let out a relived chuckle, feeling his nerves all just disappear._ _It truly felt like a_ _weight had been lifted from his shoulders now._

 _He had done it! She'd said **yes!** Quite loudly too, he might add._

 _Bu-ut, that's why he fell in love with her in the first place, the fact she was so different from other girls made her...perfect, to him._

* * *

Nate remembered that moment fondly, and as he did he let out another chuckle, he always loving recounting every small detail of how their relationship as lovers started.

* * *

 ** _8 weeks later..._**

 _Now, if there was one subject that this couple were always interested in at school, it was History. And so, the pair decided to go for a road trip to Fort Independence for a tour of the age-old castle._

 _They'd gotten there around about 11 o'clock, and had only been on their guided tour for just about five minutes, but they were both already highly impressed by the fort so far._

 _"God, i cant't believe that we're actually walking around Fort Independence! Just...aw man, this place is so amazing just to look at, isn't it, babe!"_

 _"It is...it is, indeed..." Nate said, still looking around. Curious eyes still taking it all in._

 _"Especially given the fact that this whole place is still standing after all these years, and that it survived all those battles! It's even more crazy to just think about the fact that we're stood right where all this rich history took place so many years ago, y'know ?" Nora said, as she laid her head on Nate's arm, held his hand and locked their arms together._

 _"Oh i totally feel the same, babe! We need to get as many photos as we can of this place!" Nate suggested._

 _"Ooh! Yeah, absolutely! Once the tour's over, lets take as many pictures as the staff will let us!" Nora exclaimed, simply buzzing at the idea!_

 _After that they stayed mostly quiet and just took everything all in._

 _..._

 _When the tour was over thirty minutes later, and the couple were standing on top of the eastern wall facing out towards the sea, well...they just had to take a picture!_

 _Luckily Nora had thought ahead and brought her camera along. She took a bunch of pictures of the sea, and countless pictures of the interior and exterior of the Fort._

 _Nora wanted one last picture. "Babe, c'mere!" she asked. Nate walked over to see what she was needing, "Yeah, darlin' ?"_

 _She blushed at that whole 'darlin' comment' and then told him - "I'm gonna flip the lens around to face us, to y'know, take a close-up shot!" Nora said, still sounding as exited as the minute they got here._

 _Nate smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugged her from behind, and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Smile!" Nora sang as they both posed._

 ** _*click*_**

 _Nora examined the picture, and then asked if they should take another._

 _"Aw, nah babe, we look perfect!" Nate said, and he gently twirled Nora around to face him._

 _He looked into her eyes for a few seconds, and then he slowly moved his lips closer to hers, and for a moment, Nora looked slightly shocked and worried, but then that look just vanished and she began to nervously smile._

 _She moved her lips up to meet his sooner, and then she felt it. She felt her lips connect with his. For the very first time. Ever._

 _Nora felt frozen at first contact, but then she pushed herself to give something back, and so she kissed him back. Nate lightly pulled away and looked at her._

 _"How was that ?" he asked her casually._

 _"That was our first kiss." she answered, blushing brightly_

 _"Yes, it was. But truth is Nora, i've wanted to kiss you since the day i first met you. You've been infectious to me, in the best way possible, and...i just wanted the timing to be right." Nate admitted to her_

 _"Yeah, but that wasn't just **our** first kiss. That was **my** first kiss, like ever. I've never been kissed before...but, i really liked it. Can we do it more often ?" Nora happily joked and laughed_

 _"That was my first too, if you can believe it. I was kinda nervous i'd mess it up or something. But you were worth the nerves, you always will be, hahah. But, yeah i'd really like to do it more often too." Nate said, as he laughed with her._

 _And then Nora went really silent for a good minute and a half. Before she finally spoke up again, saying -_ _"Nate, if you're okay with it...i think it's time we met each others parents...as a couple, i mean." She shyly suggested with a confident smile._

 _Nate hadn't expected that...but...it had been on his mind for quite some time too._

 _"I am, honey. And i think you're right, Nora. It's time." Nate answered with a reassuring smile._

* * *

"Oh... just take me back to those days..." Nate thought as he sat there. Completely unaware how much time was passing by.

* * *

 ** _Many months later...On Valentine's Day._**

 _Nate pulled up into the driveway of Nora's home on his brand new motorbike. They couple had arranged for Nate to come over to hers today, as her parents would be away for a whole week now._

 _They both still lived with their parents of course, but they been discussing the possibility of moving into a house together for a long time now, and they really wanted to do that as soon as possible._

 _Speaking of their parents, the whole 'meeting each other's parents' thing had been a really great moment for the young couple, as both their parents had greatly approved of their relationship, and had surprised them by thinking that the two had been dating each other for far longer than they really had been! They'd been so happy and supportive and it meant everything to Nate and Nora._

 _..._

 _As Nate got off his motorbike he had to take a moment to calm himself down and take a breath, as his nerves had risen to an all time high today, since he woke up this morning!_

 _Today was going to be one of t_ _hose **big** relationship moments for them, the biggest one yet! So naturally, it had gotten him very, **very** nervous, but he had to admit that...he would be lying if he said he wasn't very, very exited too!_

 _He walked over to the front door and took another breath before he reached out to ring the doorbell. But he hesitated..._

 _"C'mon, god damn it, Nate! You need to get over this fear! Stop feeling so nervous! Calm yourself and then go in there and see Nora! She's gonna be in the exact same bot as you, most likely feeling exactly the same as you do right now. But she wants this, and you want this. Take it slowly, as slow as we both want. One step at a time, you'll be fine!" He worried in his head._

 _Nate took yet another deep breath, but still found himself hesitating. So in one little subconscious moment of anger at himself, the fiery part of him took control and thrust his finger into the doorbell, ringing it and basically forcing him to focus, and to get over his worries, and to make him really go through with it, ready or not._

 _"Shit. Shit. Shit." Nate found himself repeating in his head, as his worrying side screamed out._

 _He could hear footsteps from inside coming towards the door._

 _"Oh shit. Okay. Okay, here we go then! Oh, fuck. Shit. Be cool. She's in the same boat as you remember...oh fuck." Nate's mind screamed as he waited for the door to open._

 _The door's lock clicked and the door opened, and there was a very quiet, equally nervous looking Nora dressed in just a sweater and joggies, and had left her hair relatively uncombed._

 _"Hi." She said very quietly, in a happy-ish enough sounding tone, as she moved aside to let Nate in._

 _"Hi-Hiya...y-you look really nice, babe..." Nate stuttered out, as he walked in and they went through to this kitchen where Nate found that Nora had a whole crate of ice cold beer sitting on the counter._

 _Nate kept balling his hands up, to try to combat his shaky hands he had as a result of his overwhelming nerves rising up again._

 _Meanwhile, Nora was finding it difficult to look up into Nate's eyes, because she was worrying over every little detail she was overthinking in her head. But she was distracted by Nate gently placing his hands on her arms._

 _"Hey, babe...look, i can see how nervous you are about...well, 'this'. Believe me babe, i'm feeling exactly like you are right now, honest. But i wouldn't have asked you if you wanted to do this unless i thought we were both ready...and it's only because i love you so much and that i want us to progress our relationship, but only at a speed we're both comfortable with. We've both thought about this moment for such a long time, and we've both joked about it, and hinted that we want this to happen for a long time. We just weren't ready then. And now here we are...we're both nervous and...kinda scared, and worried. But honestly, it's gonna be fine, honey. Because we'll take it at our pace, together, okay ? So...do you still want this, babe ? Cause if not then that's fine, we can wait until some other day."_

 _Nora finally managed to lock eyes with him now, and she just stared into his eyes for what felt like an eternity, before she slowly moved her lips towards his, and they shared a gentle kiss._

 _The kiss lasted a while, and when they parted Nora looked back into his eyes and quietly responded - "I'm ready. I am, i'm just...God, i'm so nervous. But, i-i know i want this, with you, today. I love you too, Nate. So damn much." Nora lightened up her attitude just like that, and seemed way more active and relaxed than she was minutes ago._

 _Nate smiled at her warmly._

 _..._

 _Nora smiled back and then asked - "Do you want a drink though, jus-"_

 _"Yes. Absolutely." Nate quickly replied._

 _"Just because i think it might help us to-"_

 _"To take the edge off, and to get rid of our nerves and make us feel better prepared and more relaxed ?" Nate quickly interrupted again, asking her._

 _"Yeah, exactly! We can sit and watch TV for a few hours, and get some food to go with the beer, put on some music and chill out, to help us chill out." Nora added, uncrossing her arms again now, and showing that she'd partly came back out of her shell, and returned to being her more lively, talkative self._

 _So, the two of them ripped open the crate and cracked open a beer each, and then went to sit down on the couch._

* * *

 ** _Many hours later..._**

 _Nate and Nora, now far, far more relaxed...and intoxicated, sat on Nora's bed smiling and giggling next to each other in-between their make-out sessions. As they just sat there talking. Talking about anything and everything really._

 _And then eventually, they both fell quiet. Swaying ever so slightly from the amount of drink they'd had. Not too much to cause any disorientation, or any other problem of any kind. But not too little that they still had enough fear about this moment to try and postpone it._

 _"Hon...are you sure you still want to do this ?" Nate asked._

 _Nora was staring deeply into Nate's eyes as she answered - "Yes. I've never been more sure about anything in my life! I've wanted to experience this, with you, for so long! Cause dear god, i love you, Nate!"_

 _Nate heard that and smiled so damn wide with happiness. "And I love you too, Nora. Sooo, how should we...who goes...do we just start stripping one another at the same time ? How do you wanna do this ?" he asked, trying to tell a joke, but falling flat due to nerves rising again._

 _"Y-Yeah, yeah that sounds like the most fun...but, like, lets not strip quick, lets savour the moment!" Nora said, earning an approving nod from her lover._

 _Nora slowly removed Nate's shirt up and off his torso, admiring his athletic build he worked so hard to maintain, and then Nate did the same for her, lifting her sweater up and off, revealing her large cleavage, which was teasingly contained by her bra._

 _Reaching behind her back as they shared another kiss, Nate slowly went to remove her bra, but stopped dead when Nora's hand reached behind and grabbed his hands, holding them there._

 _"No, no, no mister. I'm doing that honour! This bra's been itching me off all day, so i get to fling it off, okay." She told him with a cheeky smirk._

 _Nate dropped his hands down and waited in sheer anticipation, while also taking in the stunning view of the rest of her._ _Nora reached back and finally felt the relief of unclasping the hooks of her bra. She slowly moved her hands back around to her front again, pulling her the straps of her bra off very slowly, just to tease him more._

 _With one hand she dropped one of her straps down her arm, and then placed her free hand on her bra's cup. She then repeated the action with the other side, giggling as she did so._

 _She held the bra like that for a few more teasing seconds and then finally, following a brief moment of hesitation Nora tossed her bra to the floor._

 _Throwing the bra to the floor she let her large breasts fall free and had finally exposed them to her boyfriend for the very first time._

 _Baring them for Nate to see she was pleasantly pleased with his reaction._ _Nate blinked rapidly, and then when he regained control over himself, he smirked._

 _"Wow! Oh my god, Nora! You have...you have great looking boobs! Just...Wow!"_

 _Nora giggled, and laughed at that, somewhat nervous still._ _"I know, right." she replied, noticing the fact that a_ _s she giggled it make her large breasts jiggle about and vibrate a little, and to be honest she'd never really appreciated that about her boobs until now._

 _Whilst Nate was still focused on them, and was appreciating and admiring her breasts to no end right now. Nora's boobs were amazing! He was taking in every little detail about them right now. They were very large in size, but despite that they still had a small gap between the inner sides of them. Their overall shape was nice and almost perfectly round, and they weren't too saggy despite their large size._

 _Even smaller details that most wouldn't pay attention to caught his attention, like how her right breast was slightly bigger than her left breast, and how she had two small moles - one on the area just between both her boobs, and the other just above one of her nipples. And how much the veins on her breasts stood out. Honestly, Nate loved all of these little additions to her breasts, as it made her look 100 times better than any supermodel out there. Nora had just sat there patiently, watching him admire her breasts, and loving every moment of it!_

 _She moved forwards and kissed Nate, and as they kissed she grabbed Nate's hand and brought it up to her mouth to kiss it, then she moved it down her body and placed his hand over her nipple, and then pressed his hand against the sensitive smooth skin of her breast._

 _Nate took a deep breath as he felt his hand get shaky with nerves again, and once he'd stopped his hands from shaking again he began to start squeezing her breast, feeling just how squishy and warm they felt._

 _He squeezed them for a minute or so before he removed his hands and started removing his trousers. As he pulled his trousers off, Nora got an eyeful of the large 'tent' that had grown in his underpants and took a few steady breaths of her own as she prepared herself for her first time ever seeing a man's...disco stick._

 _Once his trousers had been discarded Nate grabbed Nora's breasts again and now he started rotating her nipples about with his thumbs, before going on to 'flick' them about playfully. So now it was Nora's turn to make the next move, and she gently reached down and grabbed the top of Nate's boxers with both hands. Nate quickly placed his hands down on top of hers. "No, no, madame. I'd like that honour! We'll push together, okay ?" Nate told her in a playful voice as he stopped her from having all the fun with this part. They looked into each others eyes and nodded at each other with a smile, and together they slowly pulled Nate's pants down._

 _Nora watched like a hawk, her eyes widening gradually each second in anticipation as the pants got lower and lower, until...finally!_

 _"Wow! It's so...oh man!"_

 _She was left completely open mouthed when his large cock flopped out of his pants, and she even joked that she thought his penis was staring into her eyes because of how erect it already was. But she was amazed and very impressed with the sheer size of it. She, like Nate, took in every little detail - how veiny it was, how large his balls were, all of that jazz. No matter how much she tried to, like Nate was with her breasts, she just couldn't help looking!_

 _Nora reached down and with one hand she began to fondle Nate's ball-sack, juggling both his balls between her fingers, whilst with the other hand she gently wrapped it around the base of Nate's penis and slowly stroked it._

 _Evidently the two of them had now almost completely replaced their nervousness, with excitement and curiosity!_

 _The two shared another kiss, this one so much more passionate! Nate decided to make the next move for them both. So he placed his hands down onto her hips and laid his forehead against hers and pressed his upper body against hers. She caught onto what Nate was trying to hint at for them to do next, and so she moved her legs into a different position so that they could both lay back against the mattress._

 _She adjusted herself so that she was resting her head against her pillow, and then she bounced her eyes back and forth between Nate's eyes and his constantly growing erection. Nate slid his hands up her slightly cold legs and she took another breath as she lifted her legs up into the air, one after the other. Nate grabbed the sides of her panties, and slid them up her legs and off her feet._

 _Nora nervously jerked her arms around, moving them from laying flat against the mattress to folded on her stomach, to placing her outstretched arms forward so that her hands rested on her kneecaps. Nate placed his hands on hers - "It's okay, babe. We're gonna be fine." He said gently._

 _She exhaled with a big breath and nervously smiled. - "I know. I just...would you hold my hands, please ?" she asked, really not sure what to do with them._

 _"As you wish." He replied as he gently grabbed her hands and intertwined his fingers with hers. They spread their arms out to rest outstretched by the sides of Nora's head._

 _Nate leaned forward until his pelvis was laying between her legs against hers, and his face was above hers. She smiled now, and let out a little giggle as t_ _hey now shared another kiss...a_ _nd then they took their new experience all the way...together!_

* * *

"Heh...oh, man...Oh, Nora. God, i...i always loved how we took on all those new experiences together, and how we only overcame our nerves because we had the other one there to get us through it..." Nate chuckled. "God, to others we must've sounded like a total fairytale couple. Heh-heh! 'The power of love will get you through all life's obstacles!'...that's what my dad always used to say, remember ?"

Nate said aloud to himself, as he laughed through the tears. Only for his tears to grow more rapid and warm, as he gently placed the holotape down on top of a dresser nearby.

"And now when i really need here you to help me, to get me through this new world...now, i don't have you anymore..."

* * *

 _ **2 and a half years later...**_

 _Nate and Nora had done so much in two and a half years...they'd taken a lovely holiday abroad together. Nate bought himself a car. Nora passed her driving test. They had finally moved into a small apartment together. They had considered buying a puppy many times, but ultimately never went through with it._

 _But...Nate would be leaving soon. He had enlisted in the Army._

 _War was still an ongoing thing in the world, and the Russians and Chinese were becoming more and more of a threat every passing day. Besides, Nate couldn't hold a job in his home town for that long anyway, and for some reason he felt that he had to prove himself somehow! So now he only had eight months until he left to go fight in this stupid War._

 _Of course naturally, Nora furiously objected. It was the first real argument that they'd ever had, and they both hated that fact._

 _But nothing Nora said could change his mind. So Nora shut herself away, and cried for the remainder of that day, and the entire next day. It took the rest of that week, but in the end Nora finally accepted his decision. She wanted him safe beyond anything else, but she wouldn't stand in the way of what he truly wanted to do._

 _Besides, fighting for your countries freedom wasn't exactly a bad thing, right ?_

 _Nate, well...he knew that should he not come back to her alive and well, that he **MUST** ask her 'the question'. Because then atleast that way, even if he fell in battle he could say that he'd had the perfect life with her. He'd already asked her parents for their permission and their blessing, and he'd received it. Now he just had to give her a truly wonderful and memorable day to remember for the rest of her days!_

 _So the following day, Nate treated Nora to the perfect day!_

 _Breakfast in bed in the morning, a drive through the countryside - complete with a picnic in a quiet field by a apple tree in the afternoon, and a meal at a fancy restaurant in the evening, before they enjoyed a slow walk to Duck Pond to celebrate where their relationship first began! Nate treated Nora to a romantic late-day peddle into the centre of the pond on one of the Swan peddle boats._

 _There was a beautiful red-ish, orange-ish sky just now, and no-one else but them - total peace and quiet. Nate had planned this whole day to absolute perfection. That's when he chose to make his move, and top this day off with the best ending possible!_

 _..._

 _He pulled out a small box from his jacket pocket while Nora was looking at the sky, and though it proved awkward in the peddle boat, he got down on one knee._

 _When she turned to see what was going on, she made a confused face and asked - "Nate, what are you doing ? Oh my god! What are you doing ?!" Nora asked in complete surprise, unaware of the fact that the edge of her lips had slowly curled into a huge grin._

 _"Baby, we've known each other for a very long time now, and we've had so, so many amazing moments and experiences together these last three years. You've always been there for me when i needed you, you've always supported me no matter what, and i couldn't imagine my life, without you in it. We've gone from just two good friends to this. The 'madly in love' couple, as everyone seems to call us now. We've done almost everything together, and we're damn near inseparable!_

 _You, are my world._ _You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I want to grow old with you! I want us to have children together. And i want us to be able to create so many more amazing memories_ _together!_ _So, Nora Rachel Tyler...Will you marry me ?"_

 _Nora instantly began to fill up with tears of utter happiness. She placed both her hands over her mouth before she moved them away to speak. " **YES! Yes! Oh my god! Oh my god, yes! Yes, o**_ _ **f course i will, Nate!** "_

* * *

 _Nate grinned widely and slid the ring onto her finger. Nora lifted her hand up towards the sky and looked at the beautiful ring now on her finger with wide, amazed watery eyes and just couldn't stop smiling, and ultimately continued producing more tears of happiness._

 _The newly engaged couple hugged tightly and shared a passionate kiss. And N_ _ora, well...she practically dragged Nate straight back home, to give him a well deserved night of amazing, romantic sex._

* * *

 ** _7 and a half months later..._**

 _"Do you, Nathan Michael Johnson, take Nora Rachel Tyler to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do you part ?"_

 _"I do."_

 _"Do you, Nora Rachel Tyler, take Nathan Michael Johnson to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do you part ?"_

 _"I do."_

 _"Wonderful! Then i hereby pronounce you, Husband and Wife!" The priest turned to address Nate with a smile. "You may kiss the bride!"_

 _The new Mr and Mrs Johnson looked back at one another and shared a long, passionate kiss, before turning to face their friends and family, and to have their picture taken._

 _..._

 _The couple exchanged hugs with the mothers and fathers who couldn't have been happier for them._

 _Nate received many manly handshakes and pats on the back from his friends, and_ _Nora received many hugs and pecks on the cheek from her friends._

 _The funny thing was though, that Nate had been wrong all those years ago, infact they both had...because **Today** was the most nervous that either of them had ever been._

 _For Nate, waiting for her to walk down the isle was insanely nerve-racking. For Nora it had been that moment, where she was stood with her mum next to her before she walked into the room._

 _But then...for both of them, that nervousness had disappeared in an instant when they saw one other dressed in their beautiful wedding attire!_

 _..._

 _Words couldn't describe just how perfect life now felt for them both, as they shared their first dance to an acoustic version of one of their favourite rock 'n roll songs._

 _Then what followed throughout the rest of the day was nothing short of amazing! Many drinks were had, and many drunken dances with friends and family were enjoyed! Amazing speeches were given by the best man, the father of the bride and of course, the Groom himself! There was an amazing meal prepared for them, and many fantastic pictures were taken with friends and family! The newly wed couple had a blast cutting out the first slice of their delicious wedding cake, and even had a food fight later that night._

 _Oh, and once the happy couple returned to their room for the night, they enjoyed an hour or two of some great, passionate, drunken and sweaty sex!_

 _They were Husband and Wife! At long last! They were finally married, and now they'd get to spend the rest of their lives together as a happy married couple!_

 _Like a fairy-tale romance, brought to life straight out of a book..._

* * *

Now Nate sat there, partly zoned out, and unable to stop himself from playing with his Wedding Ring, twirling it round on his finger, as he remembered the day Nora first slid it onto his finger, and how it was now one of the only reminders he had left of her...

* * *

 ** _One month later..._**

 _It was time..._

 _Nate had to leave to go and fight in the War now. He might not come back...and even though Nora cried when they had to say their goodbyes, ultimately she was tremendously proud of him!_

 _She would wait for his return no matter how long he was gone, she would wait forever and a day for him. And if he didn't come back ? Well, she'd decided long ago that she wasn't going to move on if that happened. She simply just couldn't imagine being with anyone else. Ever._

 _Nathan Johnson was her soul mate, and she was his._

* * *

 ** _January 10th - 2076, after the liberation of Anchorage, Alaska..._**

 ** _(Yes, yes. I know. One year early for the liberation of Alaska. But i'm breaking lore to work for my telling of Nate and Nora's backstory, so um, yeah, sorry Lore-Lovers...)_**

 _Nate lay cuddled up cosily together in bed with his beautiful wife again, at long last - along with an adorable little pup sleeping at their feet, this little guy was their new dog, Alfie._

 _After all his time serving in the army, Nate thanked the gods above that his time fighting in Wars was over. Because, whilst he'd proudly done so much for America, he had also lost far...far too much, to want to foolishly continue and end up dead._

 _When the couple had finally reunited with one another after Nate returned to the states, Nora practically leapt onto him and tackled him to the ground. She smothered him in loving kisses in front of the whole 'Welcome Home Nate!' party and didn't stop doing so for a good ten minutes atleast. She_ _thought that he had looked so damn handsome in his full Green Army Service Uniform, along with his little Green Beret...and she was having naughty thoughts already._

 _On the journey back home Nora told him about everything that she had done while he was gone. Like how happy she had felt when adopting their cute little puppy, and how she was very proud of a certain achievement of hers - Nate was very surprised and very impressed when she showed him her hard-earned Law Diploma!_

 _Nate was so, so very proud of Nora for achieving all of this, and for earning herself a Diploma in Law! She had told him how she'd worked very hard, day and night for it while he was away. He couldn't quite believe that she was a Lawyer now, and he couldn't stop telling her how great she was and how proud he was of her!_

 _He also couldn't stop playing with Alfie. He'd always secretly wanted a dog, and now he had one! Nate promised that he would love and care for him just as much as he would for Nora._

 _..._

 _Now it was a few hours later, and t_ _hey were sitting in bed together, simply enjoying each others company when Nora spoke up._

 _"Nate..."_

 _"Yeah, hon ?"_

 _"I just wondered...what was it like in the army ?"_

 _Nate cleared his throat and adjusted himself, and then began - "Well honey, there were a lot of damn good days that me and the guys had, y'know like seeing all the different countries and the beautiful environment around us...but there were also a whole damn load of bad days out there too, where we lost some good soldiers...See, as i said we were always away in a few different countries. Y'know, we would be fighting the Russians at times, but were mostly fighting against the Reds, and...there were so many thoughts that were always going through my head whenever i was in battle..." He said, looking away from her as he went on._

 _"...'will i make it out of this fight alive?'...'will i ever see Nora's beautiful face, or any of my family ever again?'...'have i made a big mistake coming here ?'...and the truth is, the one thing that got me through even the worst days and kept me fighting for my survival, was the fact that i had this photo of you with me, that i'd taken of you, from just a few weeks before our wedding And i'd look at every time i was scared, so that it would remind me of what i was fighting for, and it kept me going._

 _The thought of coming home to you in the end of it all...that was what kept me going." Nate said, half smiling and showing her the picture._

 _ **(The pic being the one from Live-Action Intro)**_

 _"But it also left a huge mark on me too. War...left me with something that'll never go away...Nora, i personally fought the guy that was the mastermind behind the invasion of Alaska. An asshole called General Jingwei. I took him on, one on one, while everyone else fought his forces. In the end i killed the bastard with his own sword, and i made damn sure that he suffered. Bec...because that fucker and his stupid fucking army...they cost me three of the best friends i ever had!" Nate passionately told her, holding back tears as he spoke._

 _"Out of the five of us that were deployed into Alaska, only Benjy and i survived. I mean me and him, w-we both grew up with those guys, y'know ? We all knew each other from when we were still in diapers..." Nate confessed._

 _Nora gently placed a hand on Nate's shoulder. He had told her earlier that he'd lost some good men and women, but she'd never thought until now that he'd meant most of his closest friends..._

 _"I just couldn't go back to the War after we lost them...God, I miss them...But i missed you even more, Nora. I wish i'd never left for War in the first place." Nate said giving another quick smile._

 _Nora smiled back lovingly, and then mentally prepared herself for what she was about to ask Nate now._

 _"So, um...Nate. Sweetheart...Listen to me, because there's something serious i need to ask you. So look hon, we've had the adventure of absolute lifetime together, you and I. And there's only one thing i can think of, that would be the cherry on top." Nora said, half-smiling and raising one eyebrow, before motioning down to her belly with her eyes._

 _Nate looked down at her belly, and realised what she meant. He looked back up into her eyes and gave a half smile._

 _"So can i." He replied._

 _Nate kissed her, and before he knew it, Nora pulled his pelvis towards hers, and he suddenly rose up and moved to position himself on top of her. Alfie quickly leapt off the bed and left the room, as if knowing what was about to happen._

 _"Honey...let's do this! Put a baby in me, Nate!"_

* * *

Nate tried to remember other memorable moments from his life, so as to try to focus on something other than the painful reminder of what he'd lost.

Like, for instance, the time when he was awarded the Medal of Honor by the President himself!

The Distinguished Service Cross, the Commendation Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal, just to name a few more that he earned and was awarded with. See, Nate had been awarded many medals indeed for his truly heroic actions and for sheer dedication during his service.

Nate even got the honour of meeting Captain Roger Maxson, who was a well known and respected figure in the US Army, and the very man who would later become the very first High Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel after 'The Great War'.

But ultimately Nate couldn't escape the constant reminder in the back of his head now about Nora's fate no matter how much he tried...So he sighed to himself, and chose to continue to re-live the better times in his life, that he'd spent with Nora, like the time when they'd first bought this very house he sat in.

* * *

 ** _2 weeks later..._**

 _Now that the couple were going to start a family of their own, Nate knew that he was going to have to invest a good amount of his money on the really important stuff required for comfortable family life. Which meant not blowing off his well-earned money on going to watch baseball games or racing every second weekend._

 _First up on the list was a brand new, and much larger house. As the small flat they currently lived in just wouldn't be big enough for all the baby stuff they would need to buy every week._

 _..._

 _"Oh, i'm sure you'll just fall in love with this house, Sir! She's brand new, fitted with all the newest gizmos, and designed to resemble a house of the future! Making this neighbourhood really stand out and feel truly independent from the rest of Boston! She comes with a very impressive amount of space for storage too!" the salesman told Nate as they walked into the new constructed house that was up for sale in Sanctuary Hills._

 _Nate was dressed up in his Green Service Uniform and Beret again, as he'd been told by Benjy that it would get him a Military discount. Although to be honest, he'd always felt proud to wear the outfit anyway, and quite liked to show it off._

 _As he stood next to the shelves beside the front door Nate looked around the main room to map it out and see if it fit his and Nora's requirements and specifications, and it was honestly very impressive to say the least!_

 _The wooden floor was a nice look, but Nate had a floor design in mind that would look much better._

 _As he looked around the big empty room, he visualised where everything could go, and how much space they would still have left for more stuff. He was very satisfied with the overall size of just this room alone._

 _The only decoration currently installed here was a large fireplace sitting in the middle of the opposite wall, and Nate kind of liked it, he even thought about how he might keep it should he buy this house._

 _Walking over to the window next to the front door, Nate noticed that it was quite wide and gave him a very good view of the street outside. Turning around to observe the size of the room again Nate noted that there_ _was more than enough room for a couch or two, their TV, and maybe even one of those Holotape players that he and Nora had been thinking about buying._

 _The shelf area on the wall by the front door could be a good place for he and Nora to place their books, comics, awards and figurines. There was even a small well hidden closet in the far corner that was completely hidden by the front door until the salesman closed the door and pointed it out to him._

 _Walking over to the other side of the room, Nate inspected the sleek and fancy looking kitchen area carefully designed into the far right corner of the room. Bright blue in colour, with some small sections of the counter-top sporting a rich, shiny, wooden texture design, which really gave it an appearance that made it truly stand out!_

 _So far everything indeed looked really futuristic, well...obviously, of course! Hence the name - The 'House of Tomorrow' that it had been advertised as!_

 _Nate was thinking about what they could do with this little kitchen...t_ _he floor of the kitchen area was currently wooden, but Nate had a much better idea in mind for the floor design, and_ _maybe they could install a counter somewhere between the kitchen and what would become the lounge area with a light of the same size hanging above it. So long as it had enough space for three people to lean on or sat at then it could fit in quite nicely actually!_

 _..._

 _So far everything was looking far better and more spacious than their smaller, significantly less futuristic flat did!_

 _Next to the fridge was another large window, with a view of the beautiful, and rather spacious backyard!_ _There was a big patio on the other side of the window that would make the perfect little spot to put a table and some chairs, aswell as a barbecue - meaning that they could sit and eat breakfast and dinner outside on nice mornings and have a barbecue in the evenings!_

 _"That's a nice garden out there, i've gotta admit." Nate said_

 _"Glad to hear that! So, do you like everything so far, Sir ?" the salesman asked him_

 _"I really like the look of this place so far, yeah."_

 _On the other side of the kitchen, just next to the oven and the built-in multi-functional mixer/whisker appliance - which happened to be great for making cakes, slushies and so on with...so the salesman told Nate. "Perfect for Nora" - Nate thought...Well, anyway next to those two appliances, was a fancy glass door leading out into a large driveway with enough space for two family cars and a motorbike - which, again, the salesman had told him. Nate figured that he could perhaps convert that into a small garage at some point in the future perhaps..._

 _As he turned back around, the salesman asked Nate -_ _"I trust you're already visualising what you'd do with this place, yes ? Hahah! Please sir, me show you the other rooms." the salesman said in a joking tone, as he started leading Nate down the hallway._

 _Following the salesman slowly, the man started with the closest room first._

 _"Now, the first room to your left here, is the bathroom. Filled with all the basics, along with more than enough room for further additions and improvements. For instance, currently there is no bathtub installed, however, should you wish to have one installed, you certainly have the necessary room to do so. Although it would cost you $1,500 more i'm afraid. Just something to think about, Sir."_

 _Nate now personally inspected the bathroom. It was a pretty bland colour design to be honest, but he and Nora could improve it, if and when he bought this place that is._

 _Because Nate already knew for a fact, that this place was definitely the house that he wanted to buy!_

 _"Now, the first room on our right here is quite small and simply just for storage, or if you wanted, it could be the room for your laundry, and your washing machines and such._

 _"The last rooms on our left and right are both exactly the same size. You could have one as the bedroom and the other as an office if you wanted, or both as bedrooms. Whatever suits you. Both come with a small wardrobe in the far corners next to the windows. Although the room on the left has larger windows...just, not the best view. Roads aren't all that great for looking at i'm afraid." the salesman joked._

 _Nate, again, personally decided to inspect them both..._

 _"Quite big rooms, good. The left can be our room, and the right can be for the kid!" he instantly thought to himself._

 _"And lastly, there's one more, extra closet, just at the end of the hall here between the door to your two end rooms. And also, all the rooms come with these fancy new doors that slide to the right or left, as they all differ in installation you see. They just disappear into the wall. They're sturdy yet thin, quality design right there! Neat-O, huh ?" the salesman asked Nate, opening and closing the doors for him, so as to demonstrate what he was talking about._

 _The two men walked back into the main room and Nate looked out the front window one final time, and smiled, as he had decided - "It's perfect. I'll take it!"_

 _"Wonderful!" the salesman replied._

* * *

 ** _One week later..._**

 _The happy couple stood outside their brand new home, sharing a hug as they took in the sight of the home where they would raise their little family, at long last. The colour on the outside of the house was a nice mix of fresh white and bright blue, which made it look better than the pale yellow or the pale blue colour of the other houses surrounding it._

 _Nora let out a happy, and somewhat emotional laugh. "Oh-ho my god, oh wow! It's perfect Nate!"_

* * *

 ** _The following day..._**

 _"Time to get to work!" Nate said enthusiastically, as t_ _hey both got changed into some spare, old clothes that they didn't care about getting covered in paint...because n_ _ow came the messy part!_

 _Nora began to sweep all around the entire house, while Nate began to repaint the walls. Opting to just repaint all the walls a fresh coat of white, leaving out only the kitchen, as they had already chosen a beige tile set to fit to the kitchen walls after the coats of paint were all done later._

 _The walls had been this really ugly shade of green before, and it just didn't look nice, or feel appealing enough for them to keep it. Besides, white just seemed...right._

 _They both agreed on the decision to listen to some music while they worked, and eventually settled on the idea of listening to the radio. The station they chose was playing something brand new called - ' **The Silver Shroud!** ' _

_And d'you know what ? It was actually kinda entertaining!_

 _..._

 _The next day, after they'd fitted the tiles in the kitchen and the painted walls had all dried, Nate had already gotten started on installing some fancy new lights on the inside and outside of the house._

 _He was currently at the top of a ladder screwing in the light above the front door. Whilst Nora was busy planting some new flower beds in front of the windows, one of every kind, and would then be trimming the hedges into a smaller, tidier shape. She really wanted their house to look pretty, and to stand out from all the others._

 _Nate finished with the light and then decided to go mow the lawn. The lawnmower they'd bought was, of course, of the newest design and was a much needed improvement over their previous model._

* * *

 _The following day the couple finally got to work on furnishing the inside. They drove down to the Fallon's Department Store nearby in Concord and bought three sets of white blinds, and six sets of mustard yellow curtains that had little dark brown squares on them. Nora found them cute, apparently..._

 _They hung up two sets of the curtains in the room they'd chosen as theirs, the one facing the road._

 _Nora closed the curtains to see how they looked, and they were both glad when it turned out that they looked superb! They hung the next set of curtains above the front window, then hung two sets of blinds and two more sets of curtains above the windows in the other bedroom, and hung the last set of curtains above the window looking out into the garden, and finally, hung the last set of blinds above the glass side door._

 _Next up, they installed a much better looking carpet to the floor, laying down a Red-ish Grey coloured carpet that sported many little dots of white._

 _They applied this carpet everywhere, minus the kitchen, the bathroom and the storage room, as those rooms instead received black rubber looking flooring instead._

 _Nate had also called someone who would come and install that counter between the kitchen and the living room area that he had previously thought about when he was viewing this place. Hell, the guy even offered to install a new ceiling light along with it, just like Nate had thought of._

* * *

 _Sadly for Nate, today was the day he had to say goodbye to his old pride and joy. His two-seater, speed-demon Corvega._

 _As he was trading it in to get a bigger car, one more appropriate for a small family. Although he atleast still had his motorbike, so he was definitely gonna be holding onto that beauty for as long as he possibly could!_

 _Nate took his time deciding on what would do the job for himself, and for his new family. Eventually settling on a Jet Black Station Wagon! Which_ _came with three rows of seats, a very large storage trunk, and some sweet looking, bright red, leather seats._

 _It was well worth the price in his opinion, even though it may have cost him $24,500!_

 _As he drove it all the way back to Sanctuary Hills, he 'may' have 'tested out it's top speed' on the relatively empty motorway! And one thing was certain as he sped home. It had certainly satisfied him, that was for sure!_

 _..._

 _Nate pulled into the driveway and revved the engine loudly to get Nora's attention from inside._

 _She speed-walked out of the house and then her face instantly lit up at the site of the new family car!_

 _"Holy shit! Nate, this is perfect! Aw man, look at it! It's got everything we need!" she exclaimed!_

 _"It even has the speed!" Nate replied with a mischievous smirk_

 _Nora deadpanned almost instantly, asking - "You didn't, did you ?"_

 _"Maay-bee!" Nate replied, spinning the keys around on his finger as he walking into the house, leaving Nora to just shake her head and laugh before following him in._

* * *

 _The next day, the new furniture they had purchased online was delivered! Which now lay out on their front lawn._

 _There was a brand new double bed, a brand new, bright red, fold-out couch. Three bright red armchairs, two bright red footrests, a bright orange BBQ, a washer and dryer, and two drawers - one small, and the other large._

 _They took their time and eventually got the furniture all set up the way they liked it._

 _..._

 _Aaaand on the next day...more furniture._

 _A few floor mats. A bathtub and a make-up box for the bathroom. A brand new TV, and a brand new Holotape player, just as they'd wanted! A long table with six rainbow-themed chairs. Some armchairs and a table for the backyard, and another drawer along with two stools for the island next to the kitchen. Setting all of that up the way they were happy with also._

 _The house was looking amazing as it continued to come together!_

 _..._

 _Now they brought in their many still packed up boxes of books, vases, pictures, awards, and personal items of theirs that held many memories for them both, and t_ _hey attached some extra shelves and unpacked all their boxes, and then set those up too._

 _They finished up their furnishing adventure by going back to Fallon's and buying the essentials for each of the rooms. Such as: duvets, towels, mops and brooms, some fancy paintings, tool-kits, pillows and cushions, lamps, cutlery, plates, as well as many other kitchen and bathroom appliances, before f_ _inally stopping off at the Super-Duper-Mart in Lexington for the food and drink._

 _..._

 _At the end of their busy day, the couple practically collapsed onto their bed and fell asleep not too long after._

 _It'd taken them a whole week and a half already, but this house was very nearly fully-finished and fully decorated to their liking. So the next day they picked up their cuddly little companion Alfie from Nora's parents, and then got comfortable in their new home._

* * *

 _Nate and Nora now finally finished off their beautiful new house by decorating the spare room, which would be the babies room._

 _They returned to Fallon's one last time, and started by buying some adorable pale blue wallpaper that was Jangles the Moon Monkey themed. Then they bought a dark blue rug, with countless different coloured little rocket ships on them, as well as a smaller circular fur rug._

 _Next came the toys, they'd splashed out some money on a little red Tri-cycle, a infant-sized teddy bear, some letter blocks, a toy car, a toy rocket ship, and a 'You're S.P.E.C.I.A.L' book. Nate had even decided that if they had a son, that he would eventually give him the very same baseball glove and baseball that his father had given to him, and make it a family heirloom in the process._

 _They bought a little dresser for changing nappies on, and lastly, a very cute, bright blue crib with a spinning rocket-ship mobile attachement to hang above it. Only problem was that they still needed to assemble it all...So, they sat there for a good hour and a bit putting the crib together._

 _When it was done, the couple stood there proudly with their arms around each other, happy with their hard work and determination. Nate even spun the mobile, just to test it out, and he swore his heart grew in size when he heard the little sound it made as it spun around._

* * *

 _ **4 weeks later...**_

 ** _*BLEEERRGH!*_**

 _"Ugh! ***BLEERGH!*** "_

 _"Hon ? Honey, you all right ?" Nate asked from outside the bathroom with some concern, as Alfie walked over and whined a couple of times, sounding concerned too._

 _"Ugh..." Nora uttered as she spat into the toilet, before carefully standing up and flushing the toilet._

 _"Oh-kay...Guh, uh babe ? I-I think we need to go to the hospital. Like, right now!"_

* * *

 ** _The following day..._**

 _A doctor quietly examined Nora, using a fancy, and very high tech machine. Approaching the patiently waiting couple a few minutes later._

 _"Well, Doctor ?" Nate asked somewhat impatiently!_

 _"Congratulations, you're going to have a baby boy!" he informed them._

 _The couple instantly turned to face each other with amazed expressions, and then hugged one another so tightly. Nora began crying tears of absolute joy into Nate's shoulder, whilst he did the exact same._

 _In time, they were going to welcome a gorgeous little baby boy into the world! The feeling that came with that...that...overwhelming feeling of happiness and joy. That was real. That was theirs!_

* * *

 ** _8 months later..._**

 _"C'mon, Honey! Push! Push! Deep breaths, c'mon! You can do it, sweetheart!"_

 _Nora, breathed in and out rapidly and then scrunched up her face again as she started pushing again._

 _" **YYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-GUH-GUH-GGGAAAAA-AAAAAHHHH!** "_

 _"C'mon hon! You can do this! You can do this! I know you can! I believe in you!"_

 _" **GGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!** "_

 _"I'm right here, honey! C'mon, just a few more pushes! You're almost there!"_

 _" **WAAAA-WAAAAA!** "_

 _Nate went completely wide-eyes and when he started smiling he couldn't for the life of him stop doing so!_

 _"Oh-ho-ho...Oh my god...oh my god! Hon, oh...look at you!"_

 _"Congratulations!" The nurse said as she rose up with the newborn baby, and placed him directly onto Nora's abdomen and dried him off. Nora breathlessly looked down at their new-born baby boy, and then up at Nate and then back down, due to tiredness._

 _"Would you like to do the honours, Sir ?" the nurse asked, breaking Nate out of his frozen trance-like state, by offering Nate the opportunity to cut his son's umbilical cord._

 _Nate froze again for a second, but then pushed himself forward, and did the honours of cutting the cord where the nurse told him to._

 _He backed away, still in complete, uninterrupted shock._

 _The nurse covered the child with a warm blanket and even gave him a cute little cap to keep his head warm._

 _Nora looked back down at their child again, now cradled in her arms._ _It felt so surreal! All those months carrying this little guy around inside her...she was utterly overwhelmed with a flood of true happiness._

 _"Hi-Hiya, little guy! I'm your mommy! Yeah, i'm your mom!" Tears filling up her eyes again, with Nate reacting exactly the same way._

 _"And this is your daddy, see him ?"_

 _"He-Hey, son! Hiya! I'm your daddy!" Nate said quietly as he knelt down by Nora's side, experiencing the feeling of becoming a father felt utterly amazing to him! He felt so blessed to have a son with Nora. He honestly couldn't control his emotions anymore, as many tears escaped his manly eyes. He looked up at Nora again and they gave each other a happy smile and a laugh through their tears._

 _At this point the couples moms and dads now entered the room, with flowers and hugs at the ready._

 _"Oh god. I was gonna be cool, and not cry." Nate joked, causing the room to suddenly be filled with laughter._

 _"Have you thought of a name for him yet ?" the kind nurse asked them_

 _"Yes, we have...We're gonna call him...Shaun!" Nora said with a emotional smile, looking down at her baby boy, Shaun._

 _"You like that name, huh ?" Nora asked her little boy_

 _..._

 _"Aw man...just look at this! God...at last, we-we have our own little family!" Nate thought to himself_

* * *

 ** _One week later..._**

 _While Nora was occupied with breastfeeding Shaun at home, Nate set out to do one last thing for the benefit of their new little family._

 _Nate drove into Boston and parked up at a brand new Mr. Handy store. when h_ _e entered the store and was immediately greeted by a member of staff._

 _"Hi there, Sir! How can i help you today ?" he asked_

 _"Hey, well i'm here because i'm thinking of buying a Mister Handy to help out around the house, as my wife and i recently had a child together, and i wanna make everything a bit easier for her, y'know." Nate told the man honestly._

 _"Oh, well congratulations then Sir! Okay, so we've currently got the Mister Handy Mark 1, and the Miss Nanny Mark 1 units available to choose from."_

 _"Thanks! But by the way, what's the real difference between the two, besides the different names ? Just curious, eh." Nate asked him curiously._

 _"Well then allow me to explain, sir...the Miss Nanny series is much more aimed at childcare and medicine - caring for children from ages 1 to 10 mainly. Prioritising above all else to make sure that they're keeping them safe, and away from harm at all times. They can also be used for educational purposes like teaching mathematics, medicine or even scientific experiments. They have a built in, complete manual for all sorts of experiments, every type of mathematic question possible and even some fun puzzles and quiz's. They've been tested over and over to guarantee all of that too. One more addition that makes them differ from the 'Handy' series is that they have the accent of a French female, instead of a British male."_

 _Nate looked quite impressed at everything the Miss Nanny series seemed to offer. The staff member continued on, and went on to describe the 'Handy' series now._

 _"But that's all they can offer, unfortunately. Whereas the Mister Handy Mark 1 series, is programmed to expertly help out with nearly everything you could think of, such as...say, trimming the hedges to your specifications, cleaning all the dishes and taking out the trash, walking the family dog, and even making and serving food and drinks. Like, making your breakfast for you by the time you've woken up!"_

 _"Ooh! Now **that** is very intriguing!" Nate added with a surprised look._

 _"Isn't it just! As standard, they come with a built-in cookery manual detailing every single type of recipe ever created! It's got a full list of literally everything you could ever want to eat or drink! - For example: You want, say...pancakes with syrup and a chocolate milkshake ? Or Spaghetti and Meatballs with a Smoothie ? Well then it can make that for you! It can carry out the cooking itself, or teach you and observe you as you make it, so that you can learn it and make it again if you wanted!"_

 _"Man, you're just making me hungry now!" Nate laughed, as the staff member shared the laugh with him._

 _"Now, one other standard feature included is one that i think may appeal to you personally, given the birth of your child that you'd mentioned. Yeah, the Mr Handy series can even attend to all your child's needs, like changing diapers, or singing them lullabies, or...of course, teaching you them. I mean, of course that's only if you want it to. Everything is completely optional and up to you. Because in the end, either series you pick - while self-aware and as 'human butler-like' as possible, responds only to your commands and doesn't ever go against your wishes or requests unless they deem it absolutely essential to do so." the man finished, likely knowing he'd already made a sale with his descriptions._

 _"Well, you've sold me on both of them today, mister. But I'm thinking i like the sound of the Mister Handy better, to be honest. Because to me, it sounds like the 'Handy' would just be far more useful to us in the long run." Nate commented_

 _"They're a fast seller, i'll tell you that, Sir." the worker replied_

 _The staff member asked Nate to follow him, and they walked past many on-display models of the Handy and the Nanny, as he further explained all the functions of a Mr. Handy._

 _"Now the Mister Handy Mark 1 comes with the standard three arms and three eye stalks you'd expect. The first arm comes with a small pincer gripper, for opening doors and holding mugs and the like. The second arm comes with a small lighter, for lighting stoves, or candles...naturally. And the third arm comes with a Buzz Saw, now don't worry, they're programmed to be extra, extra careful with that arm, as it's mostly to be used for cutting cakes on birthdays or cutting wood for any little home projects. The arms can all fully rotate round an endless amount of times, so that they don't have to waste time by turning their whole body around. One recently added design is that a fourth arm can be attached if you'd like for your Mister Handy to be even more useful at multi-tasking."_

 _"Impressive..." Nate thought._

 _"-And they have a powerful propulsion system directly under their main body, or dome if you will. They also come with built-in motion sensors that can detect movement from up to one mile away. They'll always know what time it is, as well as what day, month and year it is, and no matter how long they've been deactivated for they'll still know the date and year when they reactivate._

 _They use constantly updated satellite imagery to navigate you to where you need to go, or if the Mr. Handy itself somehow becomes lost then it can quickly find it's way back to you. Their eye-stalks can use intelligent built-in scanners to identify anyone's I.D , should you need that, by way of accessing internet files online. They can tell whether a person is lying or not due to their body language and eye movement and other smart features._ _And a Mister Handy will also always know what direction it's facing."_

 _"Most impressive..." Nate again thought_

 _"-As well as being able to store small objects or multiple Holotapes inside small, well-hidden compartments in the exterior of it's chassis. They recognise over 950 different names. And lastly, it has the impressive ability to extract air humidity and transform it into purified water! It comes in a nice fresh chrome paint-job, and speaks with a smart male British accent."_

 _"Wow! That all sounds absolutely amazing! I'm completely sold on it, mate!" Nate said, taking in all the information._

 _"I'm glad to hear that, Sir! But are you absolutely certain that you'd like to purchase your very own Mr Handy today ?" he asked, just to give Nate one chance to back out if he wanted._

 _Nate took a minute to think it over, just to be sure._

 _"Yes. Absolutely. I'll take one. How much will it be ?"_

 _"It'll not be cheap i'm afraid, Sir. It'll be $35,000."_

 _"Foof! Wow! No kidding. Well, luckily for me, i happen to have that type of money to slash out on this, so i'll definitely take one, yes." Nate answered_

 _"Splendid! Then let's just walk over to the check-out and get you your own Mr. Handy then!"_

 _The walked to the check-out, the man disappeared into a back room and wheeled out a box containing a Mister Handy. Nate handed him the cash and then he left with his new Robotic Butler!_

 _Nate lifted it into the back seat of his car and drove home as fast as he could._

 _Although he figured he should leave the Mr. Handy in the trunk of his car until he had a day all to himself, so that the surprise wouldn't be ruined for Nora._

* * *

 ** _The next day..._**

 _Nate sat on the couch relaxing, as he was busy reading through the instruction manual about the Mister Handy and how to activate it._

 _Nora was currently out in Boston with a friend for the day celebrating her birthday, along with Shaun and Alfie. So Nate used today to set up the Mr. Handy for them, as a huge surprise for Nora when she got back._

 _After unboxing the Mr. Handy all Nate needed to do was activate it, given that it was already pre-assembled. Strangely enough, there was a feather duster attached to the side of its chassis._

 _Moving past that Nate found the well-hidden power button and pressed it. He closed the lid and then stepped back._

 _The Mister Handy's three eyes all opened up at once and looked up, and then it's small propulsion jet fired up. Slowly the robot lifted itself up off the ground, and then outstretched all it's arms._

 _It looked directly at Nate and finally spoke - saying "Ah! Hello there, Sir! My name is Codsworth! I take it you're my new master ? If you aren't satisfied with my name, you may choose a different name for me if you wish. I have over 950 recognised names in my database!"_

 _Codsworth...Hmm, nice name for a posh robot butler._

 _"No, Codsworth sounds like quite an appropriate choice of name for you actually. And yes, i'm your new master. My name is Nathan Johnson, but please, call me Nate."_

 _"Right-O, Glad to be of service, Mister Nate! Are there any other residents in this household, apart from yourself ?" 'Codsworth' asked_

 _"Yes, there are. There's my wife, Nora. My infant son, Shaun. And our dog, Alfie."_

 _"Ah, lovely! Are they away currently, or are they just hiding ?"_

 _"Was that...humour ?" Nate quickly thought to himself, as he giggled internally a little - before answering:_

 _"Yes, but they'll be back here in a few hours time. Now, my wife doesn't know that i've bought you though, solely because i wanted to reveal you to her as a birthday surprise. So when she returns do you think you could like, hide in the hallway for a couple of seconds please ?" Nate asked his new robot_

 _"Why of course i can, Sir! You need only ask. Now, how else may i serve you ?" Codsworth asked cheerfully._

 _"Um, could you do the dishes please ?" Nate asked, noticing the dirty plates that he and Nora had accidentally left out last night._

 _"Certainly! Why, it's my favourite chore!" Codsworth said as he started cleaning the messy dishes._

* * *

 _Later that day, when Nora returned home Nate put his plan into action!_

 _She opened the door and casually shouted - "We're home!"_

 _Nate walked into the living room from the hallway, and greeted her, asking her - "Hiya, sweetie. How was your day ?"_

 _"Oof, where to begin...Uh, it was a mix of good and bad. We got a lot of sun, and ate a really great lunch, but...Alfie decided to piss on some shopkeepers fresh fruit and veg stand that he'd had on display outside his shop...and, well, i didn't really help the situation by laughing at it, hahah! Oh, and some pervert was watching me while i breastfed Shaun."_

 _Nate let out a little laugh. "Ah. Sounds nice (!) So, listen honey...While you were out, i might've gotten us something to...well, help out around the house. Big time!" Nate told her, keeping his smile wide._

 _"Oh...kay...And where is this surprise ?" Nora asked suspiciously._

 _"Right here actually! C'mon out buddy!" Nate replied, as he turned his head and yelled down the hall._

 _Nora could hear a strange sound getting closer and closer, until..._

 _"Ah! Greetings, Miss Nora! My name is Codsworth! And these two precious ones must be Young Shaun and the Pup, Alfie. A pleasure to meet you all at last!" Codsworth said ecstatically, as he emerged from the hallway._

 _"Happy birthday!" Nate said with a big cheeser on his face._

 _Nora was completely taken aback by this._

 _"Nate...ha-ha-ha! Oh, this is just royalty treatment! Oh, i_ _t's very nice to meet you too, Codsworth!" Nora replied cheerily._

 _"Well then, Sir, Mum. Should either of you need anything, all you need do is ask! Now i shall attend to those pesky dusty shelves!" Codsworth said as he hovered back down the hall, feather duster in pincer claw._

 _Nora just looked at Nate._

 _"Mum ? Seriously ? Damn. He beat Shaun to it, ha-ha-ha!"_

 _"Hey, it was either that or Mistress! Ha-ha-ha! So...do you like him ?" Nate asked_

 _"He's kinda cute actually, what all can he do ?"_

 _"Everything, really. Trim the hedges the way we like, wash and dry the dishes, walk the dog, change Shaun's diaper. He can do all of that on his own, or he can just help one of us with any of them. Whatever we choose, he'll follow." Nate said_

 _"With that Buzz Saw of his, it'll take a while before i let him anywhere near Shaun unsupervised, but...Oh...God, you never fail to amaze me Nate. Never." Nora said with a gigantic smile on her face._

 _"I know. But look at us all, right now. One big happy family. The way it should be...and the way it's going to stay. Forever!" Nate happily said with a satisfied smile and a relaxed laugh._

 _Nora just looked into her husbands eyes._

 _"I love you, Nathan Johnson."_

 _"I love you too, Nora."_

* * *

Nate had cried out all of his tears now. That trip down memory lane had been so nice while it'd lasted, but he knew, sooner or later, that he had to face this new world.

But not alone though, because atleast he still had Codsworth by his side.

He had failed to save Nora...

But he will **not** fail to save Shaun!

He stood up, stretched out and left his room without uttering a single word.

"Alright Codsworth. Time to head out!"

"Right behind you, Sir!"

* * *

 ** _I hope you enjoyed that chapter!_**

 ** _The reason Nate listened to Guns N' Roses is because i've decided that in my version of the Fallout universe the timeline followed real rife until the early 2000's before everything reverted to a 1950's Fallout style world but as years went on, the modern time music just got worse, so some preferred older music from older times. So...yeah._**

 ** _So, i'm likely going to come back and edit some sections of this chapter later, but i just wanted you all to atleast have the next chapter to read._**

 ** _If there's any suggestions you wanna make then just leave a review._**


	5. Chapter 5: A New Boston

As Nate and Codsworth readied themselves to leave the house, Nate stashed the Holotape Nora had made for him in the safest place he possibly could, until he returned later, as it was of extreme value to him now and he didn't want anything to happen to it.

On their way out of the house Codsworth instinctively closed the door behind them, muttering to himself something about 'keeping those filthy roaches out'.

When Nate and Codsworth moved out onto the road, Nate quickly looked over at the Washington's old house across from his and noticed something...different about it.

There were some large objects now sitting outside the house in the driveway, that were covered in large dusty covers. Nate was quite curious as to what exactly lay underneath them, but decided that he'd just wait and find out later instead.

The duo finally began walking down the road leading to the bridge out of Sanctuary. On the way to the bridge as they walked through Sanctuary, Nate noticed now just how ruined the neighbourhood was. The road and the sidewalk were cracked and split open. Now, some cracks were small enough and seemed fixable, but other cracks were much larger and even had a fair amount of grass growing in them and poking up through.

But there were some really large sections of the road that were missing more than half the slab, and now had a large mound of earth growing up over it, slowly consuming same could be said for some sections of the sidewalk on either side, as like the road, most of the sidewalk throughout the entire neighbourhood was consumed by the earth entirely. Hell, even some crumbled inward crater-like sections of the road and sidewalk were so deep that they now housed large puddles of water.

As they neared the bridge, Nate looked at two specific houses and now put two and two together in his head...realising that some people had to have taken up temporary residence here over the years between his retreat into the Vault and his recent exit. His reasons for this conclusion of his being that one or two of the houses that still stood had a few small makeshift campfires either out on the driveway or sitting inside of them, and some of the furniture had been moved into a very specific position that the nuclear shock-wave couldn't possibly have left them in.

When they finally reached the bridge, Nate observed it and noticed how broken and rickety it looked. He thought it looked very unstable, and unsafe to cross.

"Hey Codsworth, are you sure the bridge is safe enough to cross ? Cause it doesn't exactly look entirely safe to me." Nate asked, not wanting to possibly injure himself if it suddenly broke under him.

"I do believe it is indeed still stable enough to cross, Sir!" Codsworth replied

"Easy for you to say buddy, you can just hover across." Nate jokingly reminded him

"Shall we just cross the stream then ? I wouldn't want you to end up injuring yourself on your first day out of the Vault, Sir." Codsworth suggested

"Hmm. No...no. I'll just cross it extra slowly, and see how it handles when someone crosses it after two hundred and ten years of decay and deterioration..." Nate responded.

Nate started slowly walking across the bridge very cautiously, and when he reached the middle he noticed that a large chunk of the bridge to his left was missing, aswell as many small gaps where planks were either broken or straight up missing.

Whilst those planks that remained had likely had to withstand copious amounts of rainfall over the two and a bit centuries, and then Nate noticed that there was a Corvega laying down in the stream just next to the bridge, overturned and on its roof, and that perhaps it was the reason for this large missing chunk of bridge.

If anyone crossing here wasn't watching where they were going, then their foot would most certainly fall through one of the gaps and cause even more damage to the bridge.

The parts that hadn't broken off yet were constantly creaking too, which wasn't a good sign in the slightest. But apart from that the bridge did actually still seem fairly safe to cross over, if one walked slowly and carefully that is...

Now finally reaching the other side Nate was about to comment about the state of the bridge, when he noticed there was a body...No, wait. **Two** bodies! A man, and a dog, laying pretty much right at the foot of the bridge.

When he looked closer, Nate discovered it to be a very gory scene.

"Christ. What a mess...poor guys."

Both the corpses were surrounded by, and covered in so much blood!

The male, who seemed to be around about Nate's age, had a large chuck of skin missing from his neck. The dog next to him, was another story altogether. It had no fur whatsoever, and had really torn up skin all over its body...god knows what had happened to the poor thing to have it end up looking like that, but there was also a tire iron sticking out of the dogs midsection, indicating to Nate that these two had obviously killed each other. "Damn shame..." Nate thought.

"Sir. I spy a duffle bag up there, at the base of the statue." Codsworth said, snapping Nate out of his detective mode.

Codsworth was very observant, as there was indeed a green duffle bag sitting at the statue's base. Nate walked up to the base of the statue, and he knelt down and opened the duffle bag up. Inside he found a Sawed-Off Shotgun with 12 Shells, a Combat Knife, two Stimpak, and a strange, rusted revolver looking pistol.

Nate was impressed, so he grabbed the lot and stashed it in his own bag, leaving the butt of the Sawed-Off sticking out the top, as he figured it would be very useful that way, just incase he couldn't reload his 10mm in time and had to react quickly.

He picked up the duffle bag and turned to Codsworth.

"Hey Codsworth, let me put this duffle bag over your dome. That way you can carry this bag, and it'll mean we can carry more stuff, should we need it." Nate said

"Ah yes, good thinking, Sir!" Codsworth said as Nate put it around Codsworth's body and patted his shell.

"Um, well a quick question, if you will Sir. But what do you suggest we do with these bodies ? Surely just leaving them here to rot and...stink, would not be a wise choice, surely ?" Codsworth asked

Nate saw his point. "You're right Codsworth. Leaving them to rot would be wrong. But we can't bury them right now, especially given that we don't have a shovel...but still, either way we'll be coming back this way later today anyways, and i'd **really** like to know if these people in Concord you mentioned might have possibly seen Shaun, or whoever took him. But once we speak to those folk in Concord, and find out if they know anything or not, then we'll come back and look for a shovel, okay ?" Nate decided

"Yes, of course, Sir! Finding any information on Young Shaun **must** be our first priority! I just hate the...un-cleanliness of it, that's all." Codsworth replied

Nate looked down, closed his eyes and smirked lightly, he then quietly spoke "Well then buddy, i don't think you're gonna like what's left of Boston, if un-cleanliness offends you so much."

"Ha-ha! Agreed Sir!"

The duo continued walking down the road until the Red Rocket gas station came into view.

 _"Wonder if there's any good loot in there ?"_ Nate thought to himself

Hopping over the rusted and bent barrier, they moved towards the station. When Nate saw sudden movement near one of the gas pumps. He kept his hand near the 10mm at his side as he walked closer.

Suddenly the sound of...a bark ? An alerted bark was heard, and it sounded close. Was that a dog ?!

He was right enough, as a dog suddenly came running out from the shadows of the gas station into view and ran straight over to the two of them.

Nate's heart jumped for a split-second and his eyes went wide. "Alfie !? N-No, it can't be him! But-But it looks just like him!"

But then, when he took a closer look he already knew that it wasn't Alfie, as this dog turned out to be a German Shepherd, while Alfie had been an American Alsatian. There was a slight difference you see.

This dog was friendly though, it'd came right up to them to greet them and seemed peaceful and playful. Giving them no reason to worry about having to hurt the poor lonely canine. So Nate decided to greet him back.

"Hey boy! What're you doing out here all by yourself ?" Nate asked the hound as he knelt down to pet the dog's head, he was still surprised by hoe friendly this dog was, and thought it was nice to find this friendly canine so early on in a now presumably hostile world.

Codsworth hovered over. "What a friendly little boy, and he looks to be in excellent health too!" Codsworth observed

"You lose your owner, buddy ?" Nate asked the seemingly alone dog.

The dog now gave a sad whine and then sniffed Nate, who continued to pet the dogs neck.

"Oh dear, the poor pup...such a cruel world." Codsworth said

"I know..." Nate replied, before saying "Well, do you wanna come with us, pal ?" Nate asked the Dog.

The Dog tilted his head to the side for a few seconds in silence and then gave a quiet, almost happy sounding bark and quickly perked up and looked like he was smiling.

"Aw! Good! Come along and let's stick together then, pal." Nate said

The dog gave another, louder happier sounding bark, before running off towards the large open door of the Red Rocket, and turning to face Nate again.

"Ah, i do believe the young pup is trying to get us to follow him." Codsworth observed

"Alright. Let's go see what he wants us to find then." Nate replied as the two headed towards the dog.

They reached the door the dog was waiting at and looked inside the station.

It turned out it was a small makeshift garage that contained three workbenches, a tool chest and a radio that was oddly playing some music.

"Seems like someone must've been here quite recently ?" Nate though out loud.

"And i do believe that would be the button for the garage door over there!" Codsworth said pointing his pincer arm towards the big red button next to a red workbench.

Nate examined these workbenches, one was pale blue in colour and had a drill on the left side, with a clamp and a small three shelf tool box in the middle, along with a welder with two large tanks secured on the top of the workbench at the back, all of them built-in.

The other behind them had all the same minus the welder and tanks, and instead was red and had three small drawers on the top section and three more small drawers with two larger drawers, along with a mustard yellow coloured device, likely another clamp...

"This would definitely come in handy for repairing any armor or weapons. God knows i'm gonna need my armor and weapons in top condition if i want to keep myself safe out here." Nate admitted

"Agreed, Sir. And i believe that the large yellow device over there was typically used to lift car engines back in the good old days. So we could use that should we need to move anything heavy. I also see a sink, a water tank, and two tool drawers with a toolbox sat on top each one. There's also a Dolly for moving crates about, a jack for lifting up cars, countless tires, a tool rack and a mustard yellow Garage Diagnostic Cart. Very handy indeed, Sir! This young hound has led us to quite the discovery!" Codsworth said

"Hey, good boy! Good boy! Who's a good boy!" Nate said, as he patted the dogs neck again.

The dog decided to roll onto his back and kick his legs up into the air, more or less requesting a belly rub.

Nate did so and began smirking when the dog began shaking his leg back and forth vigorously, seemingly really enjoying the belly rub.

"Hey Codsworth look, i think i found his ticklish spot!" Nate said as his smirk turned into a small smile, as the dog let his tongue out and tossed his head left to right as he panted.

"Oh, how adorable!" Codsworth said

Nate stopped and the dog got back on his feet and appreciatively licked Nate's face.

"Wow! Ha! You're a very friendly dog, ain't ya!" Nate said, as he couldn't help but smile at the dogs kisses.

"Oh. Um, Sir. You are aware that dogs clean their backsides and other areas with their tounge, don't you ?" Codsworth asked

"Yeah, but you know it doesn't really bother me." Nate answered.

Codsworth hovered over to the small table with the radio and noticed a First Aid box on the shelf below.

"Ah! Look Sir, some more Stimpak!" Codsworth announced opening the lid and revealing another three Stimpak.

"Ah! Nice. Grab them. We're getting lucky with finding this many so far, would've assumed they'd all be gone by now, so we gotta make every one of them count." Nate replied

Codsworth handed them over to Nate, who bagged them.

They left the garage area, and moved into what seemed like a waiting area section in the other room. Nate walked behind the counter and opened up the cash register. He found $400, so he took it figuring that any communities out there must still use cash, right ? He searched the long cabinet and the wall mounted cabinet behind it, inside them both he only found 20 Nuka Cola Bottlecaps altogether.

"Damn. Useless."

He searched the back room next, and he found a large cabinet and a small filing cabinet to his left. He searched those but only found more Bottlecaps along with some duct tape and another screwdriver. No real use.

Behind him was a desk with a dusty terminal with a small taped bag and a rusty blue cooler on either side, and two more filing cabinets. He found nothing in the cabinets, and only more Bottlecaps in the taped back. But in the blue cooler he did find some Rad-X, which would certainly help with any radiation, and some Buffout, which was basically just a more advanced version of steroids. He searched the desk - Nothing. He checked down the side of the desk, and...Bingo!

He pulled up a rifle looking weapon from between the desk and the cabinet and inspected it. It was a Crimson Red BB Gun. It had 'Red Rocket' written in beige on the stock.

Now, Nate doubted it would be useful in battle, but he also thought that when he gets Shaun back safe and sound, that it would make a pretty cool toy for Shaun to have when he was old enough to use a weapon. So Nate stored it in Codsworth's duffle bag, then figured he might as well read the terminal.

Nate sat down and read some entries on the terminal, but all it contained was pre-war crap about restoring some Corvega. Which would likely be destroyed now anyway.

The trio exited the Red Rocket and Nate looked off into the distance, he could see Concord. The town still seemed to be standing atleast. Time to head that way!

"Alright you two, let's go sear-"

Nate was instantly interrupted by the sound of something bursting out of the ground with ease, followed by sounds of rabid growling and snarling. He turned around to see what made the sound, and spotted about two or three large, pink, rodent looking creatures emerge from the ground, shake off some dirt and instantly charge at them.

But the trio instantly were more than capable. Codsworth and the dog ran straight over to them, and Codsworth instantly sliced one of them in half with his Buzz Saw, but another one of the strange rodents quickly lunged for Codsworth, however the dog tackled it mid-air before it could reach him and pinned it to the ground. In an instant the dog ripped the skin from the rodents throat, and instantly killed it.

Codsworth drove his Buzz Saw between another one of the rodents eyes while Nate finished off the final one with a kick to the side and a clean headshot.

With all that excitement over, Nate now took the time to kneel down and inspect one of the rodents. It had two pretty large front teeth and very small white eyes, it had rough pink skin that was covered in dirt, and it smelled absolutely horrible.

They weren't quite done yet though, as four more large rodents unexpectedly burst out of the ground in the distance, shook off the dirt and sniffed the air, before noticing the trio and charging at them straight away.

But Codsworth had a quick solution to this problem. He rotated his arms around and brought his flamethrower up to face the threats, and unleashed a large bright flame onto the hostile rodents.

Somehow a single rodent emerged from the flames, completely covered in flames. It made a bee-line for the dog, but the creature was met with a kick to the face. Nate quickly stamped his boot down on its neck, and applied pressure. Finally hearing a snap and watching as the creature stopped struggling.

"Okay, now hopefully that's the last of these mole...rat-like things." Nate said, taking in the sight of the five or six small pink corpses littering the gas station.

The dog walked off ahead and barked back at them, like he was telling them to follow him.

Walking over to the hound they walked underneath the nearby billboard that lead back onto the main road. The Dog gave a playful bark as he looked back at Nate as they kept following him. But this new world was always unpredictable and full of danger at every turn, as Nate would very quickly come to learn...

Suddenly, the lens in one of Codsworth's eye stalks zoomed in, as he had detected some life-forms down the hill, down on the main road ahead of them. Codsworth scanned the area quickly and identified some new threats.

"I say! Are those giant 'mus-qweee-toes' ?" Codsworth asked, pointing his pincer down the road to a large dead pink creature with two thin, winged beasts seemingly feasting upon it - causing Nate to have a look himself, leading to him confirming for himself what Codsworth claimed to have seen.

"Oh...for the love of-"

"Sir! Perhaps it would be best if we just tried to keep ourselves silent and hidden, wouldn't it ?" Codsworth asked, as the eye-stalk of his on Nate's side turned to face him while the front eye-stalk remained focused on the giant mosquitoes.

"Well, for starters, turn your voice-modulator volume down. Oh, and they're pronounced 'mos-key-toes' by the way, not 'mos-sqweee-toes'." Nate quickly replied

"Good ide-Oh goodness me! My manners. I'm ever so sorry for interrupting you just there, Sir." Codsworth said in a now lower, almost whispering tone as he realised that he'd interrupted his master for perhaps the first time...ever.

Nate nodded at him to let him know that was alright, and then Codsworth continued - "Now. I suggest that if we head back to the Red Rocket, then we can likely circle around an-"

" **RUFF! RUFF!** "

"No, boy! That's bad! Stop that! **Shh! Shh!** " Nate said, suddenly feeling panicked.

"Sir! Company!" Codsworth alerted him.

"Ah, fuck!"

The two very large mosquitoes had now been alerted to their new potential meal by the dogs bark, and they quickly started to flap their wings and take flight. They flew over to the trio in the blink of an eye and one of the bugs immediately went for Nate and the dog, completely ignoring Codsworth. Nate fired off three shots, only to have the bug he was aiming at dodge out the way of every one.

The second bug went straight for the dog and tried to stick its proboscis down into the German Shepherds back, but the dog reacted quicker and jumped to the side, avoiding the strike, with Codsworth not a second later slicing the large bug's proboscis in half with his Buzz Saw, the dog moved fast and bit one of the bugs legs and held onto it tight, giving Codsworth an opening to swing his Buzz Saw back around immediately and slice the bugs head in half.

The bugs whole body seemed to be fairly weak and quite fragile, as it turned out. Which was lucky for the trio.

Nate observed all of this, and acted quickly against the remaining bug, back handing the bug focused on him. The force of the hit sent the bug veering off to Nate's left after the smack, but the bug instantly regained itself and got right back on the offensive. Nate took another chance with his 10mm and fired two more bullets at the bug. The first one missed, but the second went straight through the bugs head, completely blowing it's head apart.

The now headless bug hit the ground and Nate took a quick breather, although he instantly regretted it when he took a breath in and pretty much tasted the horrid smell coming off of the dead creature. He naturally cursed himself for taking such a big breath, but then he turned to see the dog as it just gave a happy bark and ran over to the currently bent over Nate, so as to lick his face whilst he had the chance.

This atleast gave Nate a small smile and made him chuckle.

"Ah, you make it seem like you do this for a living, boy." Nate said to the dog, which got him another bark, though this time it came out a little bit softer than usual.

Codsworth and Nate moved closer to the corpse and examined the dead creature that the bugs had been feasting on. It turned out to be a cow.

"Okay, so these giant flying assholes were feeding on a dead cow, a dead fur-less cow actually...and it's missing a good amount of its stomach...hmm, well those flying sticks couldn't have done **this** to it's stomach...So-Wait. Wait a second, this cow has **_two_ _heads_** instead of one!? Holy s-Wow!"

Nate didn't want to believe that radiation could do... _this!_ I mean, he knew that stuff like this _could_ happen when exposed to high amounts of radiation, but actually _seeing_ it up close ? Yeah, it definitely felt weird to him. He walked over to the dog whom was laying down on the dead grass waiting for them, as he figured he should still go ahead and get some fresh air. But whilst Nate did that, Codsworth decided to stay there and further examine the dead cow.

...

Now what really caught Codsworth's attention was exactly just how much of the mutated cows stomach had been ripped open and eaten. It was missing a very large chuck out of it's stomach, and there was absolutely no way that those two bugs or even that family of fur-less rodents from the gas station could ever possibly manage to do this to the cow.

...

Meanwhile, the Dog now stood up, and was looking in the direction of Concord, remaining very stiff and not looking away for anything. It ended up catching Nate's attention, and after observing for another few seconds Nate asked him - "You okay boy ? Seems like you really want us to get into Concord too. You got something there ? Or maybe some other owners ? Is that it ?"

The Dog turned to lock eyes with Nate and barked lightly as if he was trying to tell him - 'yes'

"Hmm, so you understand humans pretty well then ? Alright, well hey boy, don't worry. We're heading that way anyway. But first, how about this, just so i can test out your understanding and responses and all that - Do you think you can find me anything useful nearby ? Do you think you can you do that, boy ?" Nate asked the little dog, getting a happier bark in response this time, before the dog suddenly started running into a nearby house just down the road and ran up some stairs next to the mostly broken front door.

...

After about half a minute or so the dog returned with a small box in his mouth, and he placed it down at his new masters feet.

"Aw well done, boy! That's brilliant! Thanks boy!" Nate said as he stroked the dogs head for his performance.

"Alright so what do we have here ?" Nate asked himself, as he picked up the box and opened it.

He looked inside and was pleasantly surprised.

"Ooh, these could come in very handy indeed!" Nate said, as the dog had brought him a box of eight Bobby Pins.

"Clever boy! Who's a good boy! Eh! Who's a good boy!" Nate said patting the dog once more, as he bagged the box.

...

Codsworth had continued examining the dead cow, and only now noticed that the blood on, and around the cow was still very fresh. There was even some more fresh blood leading further down the road, leading into Concord itself actually.

There were some large stab wounds in the cows neck, and open wounds all over the cows body. Finally, the exposed rib-cage was mostly all broken.

Codsworth had reached a horrifying realisation - There was a very high possibility that whatever killed this poor mutated cow, was still lurking about nearby, lurking in Concord more than likely. So, a now worried Codsworth decided to inform his master about this immediately.

"Sir. I examined the remains of that poor beast those horrid bugs were feasting on. The beast has a large amount of its stomach area missing as you're aware, however, it also suffers from an exposed, and mostly broken rib-cage, and the blood on the beast is still rather fresh. My analysis concludes that neither the bugs, nor the rodents we faced at the gas station could have done this much damage altogether. So i've...come to a rather terrifying conclusion. Whatever did all of this to the poor mutated cow...may very well still be in the area, perhaps hiding somewhere in Concord itself. So please, please let us be very alert and extremely careful as we wander further into Concord."

Nate's eyes widened at the post-mortem and Codsworth's warning. "Jesus...well, shit. Okay...Thank you for warning me Codsworth. I'll be on high alert from here on out. So that means you stay close from here on out little guy, and if something too dangerous for us attacks, you run. Got that ?" Nate said thanking Codsworth for the warning and telling the Dog to stay close...just incase. Just to be safe.

Before they went any further Nate slipped the current mag in the 10mm out to check how many bullets were left. "Only five bullets left in this mag. It'll do if we come up against anymore dog-size naked rat things, and giant flies or mosquitoes...or people, of course! Codsworth did say there were still people in Concord. So i've gotta be very alert now!" Nate said in his head

The trio walked down the road and past a sign that previously had read _'Entering Concord'_ But now it was covered with the words _**'Keep out!'**_ all over it in a dark red substance.

As they began entering Concord they took in the damage and state of decay and desertion that'd befallen the town:

Broken roads, litter and leaf piles everywhere. A crumpled bus stop sat next to an devastated apartment building, with the buildings bent and rusted fire escape staircase resting on top of the bus stop. Most houses and shops had half broken doors, shattered windows and incredibly messy insides, with a fair amount of them suffering collapsed roofs and walls.

Following the road into the town of Concord, the trio stopped next to a crumbled building that was formerly a small Vase shop. Nate recognised this place because of its position on this street, aswell as the fact that Nora had always liked to visit that particular shop on their journeys into Concord...

And now...now this once proud and colourful building was just a crumbled mess of stone, glass and dust...and Nate still couldn't quite wrap his head around how much time had actually passed since the bombs had fallen...because to Nate's mind, he and Nora had just visited this shop what still only felt like a few days ago to him...even despite the knowledge of the fact that 200 or so years that have passed since this happened...

So now, walking past the shop, Nate looked around and observed other shops and buildings. Particularly, he looked at a partially destroyed former Drugs store and the mostly intact, but boarded up former Bakery - Which both sat side by side, and directly ahead of the group.

The two former shops were positioned exactly where the main road split into two smaller roads. One path left them out in the open, the other hid them in one of the back alleys of town.

Now it was a simple question of which direction to go. The path going to the left took them down the main street...or...they could take the path going to the right, which was leading down a smaller backstreet that led them past Fallon's Department Store.

Nate had quickly decided that going to the left would likely be the better choice, as Codsworth's warning replayed itself in his head. Because god knows that whatever did the damage to the two-headed cow would make quick work of them in a tighter area, and that atleast with a big open space they'd have enough time to react.

"Let's head down the main street, Codsworth. But keep your eyes peeled for any movement." Nate explained.

"As always, Sir!" Codsworth replied.

But as they were just starting to move towards the main street, they suddenly felt startled and alarmed when a couple of shots were fired in the distance. It didn't help ease their minds when they heard some male and female voices suddenly shouting something angrily, but Nate couldn't make any of it out.

Those gun shots and the voices sounded like they came all the way from the other end of the street, down by the Museum of Freedom. What the hell was happening ? Were the residents Codsworth spoke of being attacked ?

But as he was thinking about moving closer to try and get an answer, Nate suddenly heard another shot being fired, but that shot wasn't the sound of a bullet round being fired...no, that shot was the very distinct sound of a Laser Blast ripping through the air. Although there was just one other thing...see, Nate knew exactly how the sound of the laser blast was supposed to sound...and this one sounded quite a bit different to the usual sound Laser Rifles made when they were fired.

Sooo, perhaps someone had heavily modified a laser rifle in their spare time, which had resulted in the different sounding noise when it was fired ?

Or maybe...maybe the laser rifle holder was an attacker! That made sense to Nate. After all, people could be just as bad as any other monster, right ?

But just as he'd settled on that thought, Nate snapped out of his nostalgic-slash-detective mode and quickly reminded himself of what Codsworth had warned him of outside of town.

"Shit. Shit, maybe those people firing the guns up ahead are being attacked by the thing that tore apart that mutated cow...what do you think, Codsworth ?" Nate asked Codsworth, as they moved over to the entrance of the partially destroyed Drug store.

"Perhaps it's possible, Sir...but perhaps not. After all, the last time i came here i did get shot at once or twice for no reason whatsoever. So perhaps we should find a way to observe the scene from afar first, if we can. And maybe then once we can see for ourselves what is actually happening, then you can make your decision." Codsworth advised him.

"Right. Sounds smart." Nate said, as he poked his head around the corner and looked down the other end of the street.

He could see about four or five people standing in the middle of the road outside the Museum of Freedom, all firing up towards the roof of the museum. Nate turned his attention up to where those people were firing, and he saw that there was a man stood out on the museums small balcony, dressed in a long beige coat and a dark coloured cowboy hat. This man seemed to be holding a long rifle, perhaps a sniper of some sort, and that the rifle had a small glowing red sphere just above where his left hand was holding the rifle.

Nate watched as the man returned fire towards the people below, and he also noticed that when the man did so, that the red light emitting from his rifle just randomly disappeared, only for it to then reappear a second or two later.

Nate had seen enough by now to have formed an opinion on who was the attacker and who was the victim in this scenario here, and it seemed very likely to him that these four people down the street had started this fight by attacking this single man, and that he was just defending his 'home' here. Hell, maybe he had more people inside the museum that he was defending too.

To Nate it looked very likely that the man up on the balcony was very well just an innocent local fighting for his life.

"Codsworth, i...i think these people are attacking that man. I think we should try and help him out." Nate said, turning to face Codsworth with a look of sudden worry on his face.

"I think we should too Sir, but i don't believe we can successfully fight against four or more well armed people out in the open, with just weapons that are best suited for close combat." Codsworth pointed out to Nate.

"You're absolutely right, Codsworth. So what do we do...Hmm..." Nate replied as he thought of every way that they could help the man out.

"Alright. How about this ? How about we take the road to the right instead, and follow that road all the way down. Because that should take us all the way down to the church, and the church is right next to the Museum. When we get down there we could sneak up while they're distracted and take them from behind. That could work, don't you think ?" Nate suggested.

"Why, yes actually! Yes, I believe that could work quite well in our favour, Sir. But you'd have to try and make every bullet count, otherwise with their numbers they could quickly overwhelm us." Codsworth agreed, as he processed the scenario in his databases.

"Right you are, Codsworth. So i guess it's a good thing i was in the Military for such a long time then, cause what my time in the Military taught me is gonna prove really damn useful here...heh-heh-heh." Nate said, flashing a brief smirk as they began to make their way down the small street to their right.

Nate stopped briefly when he noticed a red motorbike laying outside Fallon's front doors that seemed to be in relatively good condition, apart from a faded paint job and two flat tires. He thought how he might return for it sometime soon, god knows if it was fixed and drive-able that it would prove very useful for getting places.

Getting back to the situation at hand, the group followed the street halfway down, but Nate again stopped their movement as he raised his fist and instructed the other two to stop. He then explained that they needed to walk on the sidewalk and stick close to the walls, as he was almost certain that he'd heard a loud noise come from down the alleyway just to the left and slightly ahead of them, and Nate really didn't want to be detected or spotted.

Thankfully, Codsworth and the Dog were following every order given to them flawlessly and weren't running towards the possible danger or giving away their position by making loud sounds. Nate thought to himself that this dog must've been professionally trained at some point in his life.

Nate took a careful look down the alley, and what he saw...was a Girl. Just one girl.

It was fairly obvious that she was with the ground shooters.

This girl, she had frizzy Ginger hair that came down to her shoulders. She was dressed in a what looked like a black safety-harness, one that covered up her entire upper-half as she seemed to have no t-shirt or bra on underneath. She wore some dark red skinny jeans and some dirty red converses aswell. Nate also happened to notice that every section of her exposed skin seemed to be sunburnt.

She suddenly started to reach into the back pocket of her jeans, and she pulled out an engraved silver flip lighter, and lit up a cigarette.

"Right. Stay here. I'm gonna go figure out who these guys are." Nate said in a low voice to Codsworth, who nodded all three of his eyes in response. Nate looked down at the young obedient dog, who was sat waiting patiently for a command and looking right up at him with his little puppy eyes.

"Stay, boy." Nate whispered, pointing at him. The dog gave him a very quiet, very low bark in response.

"Good boy." He also whispered.

Nate gripped his 10mm pistol tight and quietly began to sneak towards the girl. This alley was covered in litter and rubble. But what was worth of note, was that there was also a small, partly hidden access hatch leading down into the Concord sewage tunnels.

The Girl lifted her left arm up and appeared to grab something from underneath it, and as she slowly began to walk away back towards the main street, Nate knew he had to grab her quickly if he wanted to know any useful information about whether or not the group shooting at the man were the good guys or the bad guys before he started a fight with them. He got up close behind her and took a few more steps forward.

 ***CLUNK***

Nate immediately looked down at the ground, thinking it might have been another one of those ugly rodents...instead, he saw a rusty tin can rolling away from his feet on its side. That's when his ears caught the sound of a hammer being cocked.

He cursed himself out under his breath and repeatedly told himself off for letting this happen. Not a moment later he felt something pressed against the top of his head.

"Shit! I don't know where the hell you just came from, but if you wanna keep breathing then you'd better hand me over all your shit! Right now! The girl ordered, her voice was hoarse, like she had a sore throat. Nate slowly looked up at her, and when he saw her face he noticed just how young she looked! She must've only been atleast twenty, twenty-one, there-abouts.

She had big blue eyes that were hazy and surrounded by smeared black eye-liner. Her lips looked dry and slightly cracked, and her nose was broken. Her face was mostly dirty and her hair was much messier than Nate had previously thought. It was greasy, and had small strands caked in dried blood, and Nate even noticed that some random sections of her hair had been shaved off. The poor girl looked really dehydrated and she had a scar across her left cheek, which looked like it was a rather recent addition to her face...Nate noticed a broken handcuff locked onto her wrist, and that made him curious...

"Heh-Heh! Oh, wow...well ain't you a looker!" the girl suddenly commented, after supposedly checking him out for a few seconds.

"Be cool." Nate calmly replied, keeping his expression blank as he placed his 10mm down on the ground and stood up straight again.

"Do-Don't tell me what to do! Just...just gimme all your stuff! Now! I don't wanna have to hurt you...b-but i will!" she demanded again

"Yeah...look, I can't do that. See, I need the majority of it. But what I can give you, is a .44 Revolver, and two or three Stimpak, alright ? But i really do need to keep the rest of it." Nate said.

He could tell right away that this girl had taken some type of drugs rather recently, judging her by her body language. As this girl seemed very impatient, quite fidgety and...horny.

"No, i want all of it! And i want it now! Don't even think about trying anything! I really don't wanna have to shoot that pretty face of yours, okay ? So just hand over your stuff peaceful-like right now or i'll shout for help...and if do that, then there's no way you'll get to live! So don't be an asshole and just do it!"

Nate weighed all of his choices. His decision was made.

"Fine. I'm gonna hand over my stuff then, okay ?" Nate said, raising one hand out while he removed his bag with the other.

He took his bag off his back and tossed it over to her. The girl knelt down, grabbed Nate's 10mm and then unzipped the bag and had a look through it's contents.

" _OOH!_ Damn! Now ain't this a fancy looking thing! Hell, i bet the fellas will treat me so much better if i bring 'em this, it'll definitely prove my worth to them. Ooh, i might even get a promotion now, yeah..."

"Ugh. So what happens now ?" Nate asked in a suddenly pissed off tone.

The girl looked up and she eyed Nate's body up and down, like a hunter with its prey...and then, a wicked grin appeared on her face.

"Now...well now i'm in control, and if you wanna leave here unharmed, you'll do what i want, and what i want...is for you to get your dick out for me!" she said, pointing Nate's own 10mm at him and licking her dry ass lips.

The demand made Nate raise his eyebrows in complete shock.

"No." Nate simply replied

The girl fired a warning shot next to his foot. "Look, i'm doing you a real solid here by not calling the others, muscles! So get your dick out for me. Do you hear me ? Now!"

"Why ?" Nate asked, with a continually growing pissed-off look on his face.

"Cause i have a gun, and you don't. And I'm horny. And you're hot. So do what you're told and show me your dick. C'mon, it'll be fun!" She replied

"Buy me a drink first." Nate flatly replied, letting his sarcastic side resurface but keeping the serious expression.

The girl laughed. "Wow. You're hot _AND_ you're funny. Ugh, but my god, if you're really gonna be so difficult then i'll go first if it helps you loosen up or whatever. Cause i seen you looking at these tits of mine while i've been talkin'. So i'll let you take a look at these bad-boys, but i want that dick afterwards, yeah pretty-boy ?"

"What the fuck.." Nate muttered.

Keeping her gun and her eyes aimed at Nate, the girl used her free hand to begin unbuckling the safety belt that went across her chest and covered up her breasts. She looked right into Nate's eyes, opened her mouth up wide and licked her tongue around her lips.

When she finally unbuckled her belt she kept a grip on it, to hold them in place. She started to jiggle her cleavage about like she was teasing him, before she finally let go in a dramatic fashion and exposed her mostly dirt covered breasts to Nate.

Her breasts were very pale and white in colour, when compared to the rest of her sunburnt body. There were a good few healed-up scars covering both her breasts, aswell as her upper chest area, and both of her nipples had been pierced and looked somewhat...bruised.

She cupped one breast in her free hand and started pinching her nipple. - "You like what you see ?" she asked.

"Why the fuck are you doing...well, this ? What you're doing right now makes you look pathetic and desperate." Nate told her straight.

"Hey! Don't you speak to me like that! I'm a hot little piece of ass, who's happily showing her tits to a strange hottie to help him get off! Not every woman is just gonna like...flash you their tits, pal! I don't ever get to do things like this, y'know, i don't get ever get _my_ way back home...ever! I don't get any respect or care. I don't get appreciated, and i don't get opportunities like _this one_ right here! I get beaten and used and i never get appreciated or cared about! Especially not by the guys i'm here with! And all i want is to have someone to make me actually feel wanted for **ONCE!** Like, properly wanted!

Cause i'm still a woman y'know, i still have needs, and i need someone to help me out with them while i have the chance! I get treated like absolute crap back home, and now i have my one chance with some probably desperate guy like you to let me feel different for just one day! **SO GET THAT DICK OUT FOR MAMA! BECAUSE SHE WANTS TO SEE JUST HOW BIG AND JUICY IT REALLY IS! AND SHE JUST WANTS TO TASTE IT, NICE AND PEACEFULLY AND CALMLY, AND SHE WANTS TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT DOING IT FOR ONCE!** **Hahah-ha-haha!** " She laughed manically as she tried to yell, despite her hoarse voice.

Nate was thinking of continuing to refuse her...but, if he was gonna get out of this alive, then he'd have to play along until he could get an opening to get the upper hand. He didn't want to have to kill anyone. Especially not this young girl. She was young and seemed confused about what she really wants. Hell, she probably got manipulated and fell in with the wrong group early on in life...but he also didn't want to let her touch him. He wouldn't let her! But he just needed to play along a little bit longer.

So, Nate unzipped his jumpsuit all the way down and then looked down at her breasts, and then looked her in the eyes.

"See! I told you i saw you looking at them!" she said, having noticed that glance.

"Fine then, girl. You're so passionate about being treated the way that _you_ want to be treated, and getting exactly what _you_ want. So if you really want it, you can do it your way and come and get it..." he said to her.

"Oh no, no, no. I'm not falling for that shit. Just...just pull it outta your pants, and then...just jack it off for me." she ordered after laughing his suggestion off, with her tone becoming much less playful now.

"Nah, how about this. I'll face the wall and put my hands flat on the wall, and then you can just come up behind me, put my gun to the back of my head and do whatever you wanna do, just...get it all over with quickly." Nate told her, as he put his hands on his head.

"Mmm...finally seeing sense! I like that, good suggestion sexy!"

Nate exhaled and asked "So if this is really gonna happen, lets atleast make it less awkward, yeah ? What's your name ?"

The girl seemed confused, both in a good way and in a bad way -"My-My wha ?...No-Nobody's ever asked me what my name is before...but...i don't-don't really have one, it's always been either 'Girl' or 'Toy' or 'Slut' or whatever the guys wanted to call me..."

She paused for a bit and then regained her previous attitude, and asked "So..so what do i call you ? Big dick ? Mr Handsome ? Huh ?" she asked

"My name's Nate. Look, please listen to me. You don't need to do this...please, let me help you! Just leave the group you're with if they treat you so badly, and help me save this guy they're attacking. Come with me. Come with me, and i promise i can help you fight any problems you want help with. You're still young, you can still have a different life, a better life. You deserve better, you've been manipulated and used. But it's not too late to do the right thing, it never is!" Nate said

The Girl paused again before she answered.

"Oh no, no, no! I see what your trying to do! You're trying to make me lower my guard with bullshit lies and fake promises! The second i buy it, you'd knock me out and leave me for dead, or kill me!"

"I swear to you, i wouldn't do that. I'm not like that!"

"Oh bullshit! Everyone in this fucking wasteland is like that! Besides, i'm safer with my guys anyway! If i left them, then somewhere down the line, they'd find whatever place i go live at, and if they didn't kill me, then they'd do worse! Atleast being with them means i'm safer than other people!" She yelled passionately.

"I'm not lik-"

"Stop talking or i'll knock you out and do it the less fun way!" She suddenly yelled at him as he tried to defend himself.

Nate just grunted and did as he said he would. The Girl walked towards him and she was now face to face with him.

She pressed the end of the 10mm's barrel up against the side of Nate's neck and smirked wickedly.

"Sorry _'Nate'_ , but i don't want you tryin' anything. It's more _fun_ this way. 'Just accept it'. That's what they always say to me." she said through small bursts of laughter, making Nate question her sanity.

She put her hand on Nate's chest and he grunted again and looked off to the side, and so the girl laughed again and added.

"Actually, i want you to look into my eyes while i feel that big ol' dick of yours! I wanna see the pleasure in your face, and i want you to see all the pleasure in mine!"

Nate turned back to face her, hands still on his head, as the Girl started to grind her breasts and the rest of her body up against his, while keeping the 10mm pressed firmly against his neck.

"You're a special boy, getting these nice big tits squashed against your big strong chest right now!" she said in a purr-like tone.

She then took the opportunity of being in complete control and shoved her free hand through the opening of his jumpsuit.

"Ooh! This is gonna be so much fun! Mmm, let's have a feel of that big bad boy now, shall we ? Oh god, i can't wait to see it! Hehe-ha!" The Girl said, becoming more strange as each moment passed.

"Heeeeeere i gooooo!" she sang as her hand went further down his body.

The girl began to slip her fingers down Nate's pants when Nate suddenly grabbed the hand that was holding his gun. Tight. But even though she had it pointed right against his head, Nate wasn't worried in the slightest.

The next thing she knew, the girl felt a long, cold, metal arm wrap around her neck and tighten itself quickly.

"Wha...whatever that is, you'd better let me go right now, or i'll-" she yelled out, before she was cut-off.

"Get your filthy little hands off my master right this moment, young lady!" Codsworth demanded, giving this girl her first and last warning, as his pincer arm was now wrapped around her neck tightly, and his Buzz Saw was now pressed up against her wrist from below.

She kept her body still, but she turned her head to the right and tried to get a look at Codsworth.

"I wouldn't like to have to, but i will detach that hand if i must, to save his life. Do think wisely." Codsworth warned the girl.

The girl looked really angry now, but ultimately complied. She dropped the 10mm to the ground and Codsworth swiftly released his hold on her.

For a few seconds everything was calm...until the girl reached for her other pistol, a rusted revolver tucked into the back of her trousers. She began to swirl around, raising the gun to attempt to shoot Codsworth. But she was stopped when she felt two hands grab her revolver and easily throw her into the opposite wall. The weapon was pulled from her grip and then pointed at her.

"You fuckin' asshole! I would've fuckin' kept you safe from them, hot-stuff! I would've made a great impression for you! I only wanted some fun first!" The Girl hissed at him, sounding betrayed and angry.

"And i would've kept you safe from any threat i could, given you a home, and helped you with anything i could have, if you had just listened to me and asked me for that help instead of continuing to try and steal my stuff and sexually assault me. Cause i'm assuming that group of yours are indeed the bad guys here. And whatever you say, however innocent you try and make yourself sound now, at the end of the day you still had a choice, and you chose wrong. I reckon that you're just as bad as them." Nate said harshly.

For a split-second the Girl had a look of hurt on her face, before it turned to rage and she began to shout " **GUYS! GUUUUUUYYYSS! WE G-** " _***crack***_

 ***THUD!***

Nate had just knocked her out cold with her own gun, to avoid being detected by her group.

"Stupid Girl...you could've just ran away from these pricks and started anew..." Nate said as he raised the Girl's pistol up and aimed it at her head. Codsworth was wanting to say something, but just remained silent instead, waiting to see how his master would typically approach an unfortunate situation like this.

For a few seconds Nate was genuinely considering pulling the trigger...but something stopped him - "No. No, i can't...God...i can't do that, she's still too...too innocent...God, poor thing, she's still just a girl after all."

"Well done, Sir. I think that was the right decision!" Codsworth commented, approving of his choice.

"Thanks Codsworth. Now, uh...lets try and find something to tie her up with, like rope or duct tape or something. We'll hide her in some bushes nearby or something. Don't want her coming back to attack us later and forcing us to do something we'd like to avoid doing. I'd also like to prevent her being found by someone...or something. When we're finished here in Concord, we'll come back for her, and see if she'll have a change of heart then." Nate recommended.

"Excellent suggestion, Sir! I shall search for rope or tape at once!" Codsworth said as he sped away back the way they'd come from, and the Dog walked over to him and rubbed his head against Nate's leg.

Nate looked down at the Girl's body as she lay there unconscious on her back. Nate still felt bad for this girl even despite what she'd tried to do. She honestly seemed like she was once a nice person, but had made some bad decisions or even been forced into this life...what was he really going to do with her after dealing with her group ?

"Mister Johnson!" Codsworth said as he entered the alleyway once more, pulling his master from his thoughts.

"I found some duct tape in a toolbox nearby. Here you are!"

Nate took the duct tape from Codsworth's pincer hand and then moved the Girl's feet together. He taped her feet together, and then placed both her hands together and taped them together too. He glanced up at her still exposed breasts, which were both pushed closely together due to them being stuck between her now taped together arms. He shook his head and grabbed the two sides of the harness's belt, intending to buckle it back up and cover her chest up again, to give her some decency atleast.

But he found one problem with this. No matter how much he tried to avoid it, he knew he'd eventually end up brushing his palms against her breasts at the very least.

And he still held the same intentions as he had done from even before the bombs fell - in that he never wanted to touch the breasts of any woman other than Nora's, accidental or not. Both out of loyalty to Nora, and also for the fact that it would be wrong to just touch other women's breasts, especially like this...but, at the same time he couldn't leave her like this.

So he sucked it up and pressed his palms flat down on her breasts, feeling a quick tingle of cold from her nipple piercings as well as the softness of her squishy skin. He quickly re-buckled and tightened up her harness's belt and had her breasts covered up once more, even if her cleavage did still look slightly bigger now...

Nate zipped his jumpsuit back up, took back his weapons, and his backpack, and dragged the girl out of the alleyway and hid her in a broken down, rusted car around a corner.

Though he decided to take her flip-lighter and her rusty revolver, for extra use they may provide.

"Alright, so the ground shooters sound like they're pretty bad people, Codsworth." Nate said to the ever faithful robot.

"So shall we give them any chances to run, or shall we treat them as we would those pesky giant flies ?" Codsworth asked

At that moment an idea popped into Nate's head, about how to better arm Codsworth. He pulled the Combat Knife out of his bag and held the handle end towards Codsworth.

"Here Codsworth, take this knife, you can hold it in your pincer hand. I know you're not a fan of violence Codsworth, and neither am i. But it's my fear that in this new world we're gonna have to accept being violent against other humans at times like right now, to survive other situations like this one. So i need you to be as well armed as you can be, for your protection as well as others. We don't kill anyone _unless_ they give us no other choice. Are you okay with this ?" Nate asked in a low voice

Codsworth looked down at the knife in Nate's hand with his front eye-stalk for a moment before gripping it with his pincer and saying "I understand Sir. I'd prefer not to have to use it at all, but if we're given no choice then i shall put it to great use!"

"Thanks for understanding buddy." Nate said, patting his shell again.

"C'mon then, little one." Nate said to the Dog, who gave a low bark in response. The trio then continued to follow the road to the church again, while the shooting was _still_ raging on.

Nate, Codsworth and the Dog were now crouched next to the corner of the building opposite the church.

Looking around the corner, Nate counted five men. He only had four bullets left in this mag now.

"Hmm. Hopefully the guy with the laser gun will help me out and not shoot me too..." Nate thought to himself.

The attackers seemed to be completely focused on the guy up on the museum balcony though. So, taking advantage of this, Nate crouched down again and made a bee-line towards the closest guy to him. He remained still and watched this man from behind for a few seconds, before he turned and aimed his 10mm at the next closest person to him, and lined up the shot.

 ***Bang!***

Clean shot to the shoulder. Nate acted quickly and turned back to the guy he was crouched behind. He stamped on the back of his leg hard and wrapped his arm around his neck, using him as a human shield. As Nate's intentions were to try and resolve things here peacefully, despite how uncaring these people seemed to be towards the lone man above.

All the other attackers turned to face him, but before Nate even got a chance to speak, the man he had as a shield was instantly shot in the head twice by his 'friends', narrowly missing Nate however, to his luck.

"Jesus!" he yelled as he threw himself to the right, behind an old mostly destroyed, rusted van.

The remaining four attackers had two rusty revolvers and two sawed-off shotguns between them, and they were all now focused on firing at where Nate was hiding. That's when he heard the sound of a loud laser beam rip through the air, followed by a loud splat sound and then a thud.

"Shit! Sonofabitch!" One of the other attackers yelled. Which Nate took as meaning that the guy with the laser gun had just killed one of them and helped save his ass.

Nate worked quickly, and aimed through one of the gaps in the van, he paused momentarily and then fired two shots into that attacker's chest. He then saw that very attacker get struck with a red beam from behind, and instantly disintegrate into a pile of steaming red ash on the ground.

The sound of a flame thrower whooshing followed by sudden screaming quickly caught Nate's attention, he turned his head to see Codsworth burning alive the attacker who Nate had shot in the shoulder. Nate took it upon himself to finish the final attacker off quickly, and he did just that, with a perfect headshot.

Now everything was quiet. He got up from behind the van and took a look at the dead attackers. Most of them were wearing either beige Long Johns with either a Gas mask or a Sack with two small holes for eyes over their heads. The rest wore leather jackets with leather pants, and some orange metal cage like armor over their heads as a form of protection.

Nate then figured their weapons were his for the taking now. There were three rusty revolvers, two Sawed-Off shotguns and a rusty looking rifle, that looked like it had been made out of wood, nails, duct tape and springs...

"Hey! Up here, on the balcony!"

Looking up at the balcony of the Museum, Nate spotted the very man he had come to defend from the attackers, now shouting down at him with his weapon lowered, thankfully.

"I've got a group of settlers inside! There's Raiders inside that are almost through the door up here! There's a Laser Musket like mine down there! Grab it and help us! **PLEASE!** " the man shouted down as he quickly ran back inside.

Nate quickly looked for the weapon the guy had mentioned and soon noticed the laser weapon laying next to a dead man on the steps, along with four fusion cells scattered on the ground next to him.

Grabbing the weapon, the trio entered the Museum of Freedom.

Hopefully these people in need of his help could provide information on Shaun's whereabouts...

* * *

 **Alright guys i hope you enjoyed that chapter.**

 **I know that scene with the girl raider may have seemed odd and unnecessary, but i wanted to show the Raiders as something more than just assholes who kill everyone on sight. I wanted to show that some poor people get manipulated into joining the Raider groups at young ages, that some members get pushed around and bullied within, and also that some would rather do other things to strangers than kill them. I guess i'm just trying to make the raiders more realistic in a way.**

 **Also, as you may notice i tend to describe pretty much everything in sight, i don't know why i do that, i guess i just like describing everything so you can try and paint the perfect picture or something hahah.**

 **Anyways, in the next chapter we'll meet Preston, get some Power Armor, and meet a terrifying beast from below...**


	6. Chapter 6: New Friends, New Enemies

_**Hey everyone, i know i should have tried to have this chapter finished and released sooner, but on the plus side i'm releasing two chapters today instead of just one. So yeah, enjoy :)**_

* * *

Pushing open the doors into the museum, the three were immediately greeted by the sound of more gunfire.

Two more attackers on the floor above them, 'Raiders' as the man had called them, were fixated on the floor above them and keeping the man and his group trapped in that area.

Knowing that these attackers would soon reach the man and his group if he didn't stop them, Nate raised his newly acquired, possibly modified laser rifle up towards the Raider closest to him. He took aim at the man, whom was hiding behind two stacked up crates. Nate held his breath and lined the shot up.

 _These people weren't surrendering or fleeing, they were attacking him and **forcing** him to kill them, he couldn't risk trying to spare them all **and** save this group at the same time. Nate had wanted to never again kill another person, it was one of the main reasons he had left the Army...he didn't want to see more death...but yet, here he was...in a strange and already scary new world, currently being attacked by crazy, hostile and possibly drug addicted strangers...he had already killed some Raiders outside the Museum. But still...he was just going to have to accept that this was how people survived these days...and that these 'Raiders' were a danger to any good people left._

 _"I'm sorry..." Nate muttered as he got ready to pull the trigger, and take another life._

Pulling the trigger...Nate had expected to see the mans head snap back, but instead nothing happened. Nate was incredibly confused by this, so he tried again and when his rifle still wouldn't fire he slapped the side of the glass section in frustration. Unfortunately, in those few seconds of confusion the Raider spotted him.

"Shit boys! We got company down there!" he yelled to his other friends before he swung his weapon around to face the trio.

Nate knew he had practically less than a second to react before the men started firing in his direction. He bolted forwards and found cover behind a small pillar and pushed his back up against the pillar, seconds later finding himself avoiding gunfire once more as bullets began to strike the other side of the pillar and the surrounding area where Nate hid.

Codsworth started to say something to him from behind but he just couldn't make out what he said and mostly ignored him, due to the loud noise the gunfire made. A bullet grazed the edge of the pillar, if not for the fact of just how close to hitting his eyes the bullet was Nate wouldn't have paid it much attention.

Desperate to defend himself and return fire Nate looked his new rifle over for a slot for the fusion cells to fit in. Any way to get it to fire back.

It was then that he realised just how simple it was to reload this weapon and laughed at himself for it. There was a grip on the left side that looked to be the solution. Grabbing the handle, Nate hesitantly pushed the handle forward, as he was unsure at this point which way was the right way to move it in. His guess paid off and he quickly completed the full rotation, which then gave birth to a familiar red glow just above his left hand, which was supporting the weight of the rifle.

"That's better!" Nate said to himself as he manoeuvred himself around, so that he could face the Raiders.

He held the rifle tight to his side. He crouched down and remembered the tactics he was taught in Anchorage, focusing his hearing on each gunshot until they eventually ran out.

 ***Bang!***

 ***Bang!***

 ***Bang!***

 _*Click! Click!*_

Poking his head around the side quickly Nate saw the Raider he'd previously tried to kill, currently crouched down behind the crates, reloading his weapon as fast as he could, but foolishly leaving his bald head ever so slightly exposed.

Nate brought the rifle up and aimed down the sight, quickly lining up the shot again. Nate pulled the trigger and this time the weapon fired, and it had one hell of a kick, more than he thought it would've.

He observed the red beam tear through the air with a loud **BOOM** like noise, and noticed the red light instantly fade from the glass case from the corner of his eye. The top of the crates on the floor above were singed and smoking from the weapons blast, and yet the Raider hadn't made another sound. "Shit, did i miss ?" Nate found himself asking in his head.

A creaking noise from the floor above and a loud thud from the opposite side of the gates answered the question for him.

Nate cranked his weapon once more, and the red glow returned to life. He looked further to his left to spot whereabouts that other alerted Raider was currently hiding.

Alert eyes scanned every inch in front of them, observing the full extent of the damage to the once grand Museum. The floors above appeared to have a distinct lack of floor boards and most of the upper floors had collapsed in. The glass section of the ceiling was mostly smashed and destroyed. There even seemed to be a propeller sticking in from the roof off to the right. Possibly the propeller of a Vertibird.

He watched the upper floors like a hawk, but he couldn't spot the person. He turned to see how Codsworth and the Dog were doing...but to his shock neither of them were anywhere to be seen.

"Oh, for fuck sake! Where the hell did they go ?" Nate now asked, getting a little paranoid.

There was a faint thud coming from the room to the right, followed by a British voice yelling "Have at thee!"

He cautiously walked through the doorway, which went off to the right and down a short corridor. There was another door to the left leading into a pitch black room.

Nate paused at first, and cautiously walked in.

"No more British occupation!" a voice yelled as the lights in the room came on in a flash. There was a figure right to Nate's left that had a raised arm, which instantly received a blast to the chest.

When Nate recovered from the jump scare he realised that he'd actually shot a simple display mannequin.

"Jesus...Fucking mannequins!" he cursed under his breath.

Re-cranking his rifle again, Nate walked past all the mannequins in the room as their recorded lines continued to be played.

"Join - or **DIE!** "

"Fuck off." Nate said as he walked through the room, as if he was responding to the inanimate object.

Now he entered the next room, and as before the lights came on, and with them the recorded lines played once again.

"Have your tea back you _**jackanapes!**_ "

Nate tried to block out the irritating voices and listen carefully for either a bark or a British accent. However, the next thing Nate knew he heard a faint _"Whoooosh!"_ Followed immediately afterwards by loud screaming and the sudden realisation that the shooting sounded much closer to Nate's position than he was comfortable with. So he quickly ran into the next room.

He heard the sound of a running Buzz Saw spinning, accompanied by growling and loud grunts.

Walking forwards into the next room, Nate saw Codsworth and the Dog working together to defeat a single remaining Raider.

However, this Raider was slightly more intelligent than the others encountered thus far. Despite having one or two cuts he had managed to get a hold of both Codsworth's Pincer arm _and_ his Buzz Saw arm, whilst also trying to kick the Dog off of his leg.

"You stupid fucking robot! I'm gonna scrap you for fucking armor, and then i'm gonna eat that mutt of yours!" The Raider yelled

Nate glared at the man. He'd heard enough, he raised his gun at the mans head.

 ***BANG***

" _Ah!_ There you are, Sir!" Codsworth said as the Raider crumpled to the floor.

"Codsworth! Where did you go when we were being attacked at the entrance ?" Nate questioned the Mr. Handy, now that they were temporarily safe, sounding both a mix of worried and disappointed when he asked the question.

"I'm ever so sorry, Sir. But the young pup took off through the doorway back at the entrance almost instantly once these horrible people started shooting at us. I did attempt to inform you that i would chase after him and make sure no harm came his way, and that i would attempt to attack them from behind to aid you. Though i gather you probably didn't hear me properly due to all this gunfire. I won't do it again Sir." Codsworth answered

Nate walked over to Codsworth and the Dog, who was trotting over to greet him.

As he stroked the Dog's head, he noticed three fresh Raider corpses, one with a torn open throat and the other charred and smoking.

"Those other two give you much trouble ?" Nate asked, pointing at the corpses.

"Not at all, Sir. This pup is trained extraordinarily well, and of course none can beat the best that General Atomics has to offer...um, had to offer, rather..." Codsworth finished in a low tone.

"Look. In any case i'm glad you're safe and that you wanted to make sure this little guy was safe. I'm not angry at you, Codsworth, you just had me worried. Now c'mon, lets move our asses." Nate said

It wasn't hard to miss the section of the floor that had a large chunk of collapsed floor missing, that likely lead down into the basement Nate. He cautiously walked up the surprisingly still intact staircase, at the top of the stairs he found a small table with a blue cooler, a skull and switchblade.

Nate didn't even want to know why there was a skull there. He did however take the switchblade and checked the cooler, which unfortunately held no goodies. Nate had made a mental note of the fusion powered generator locked up in a small cage in the basement, maybe coming back for the fusion core later might be a good idea.

Following the stairs to the left and into the room ahead Nate's eyes were introduced to a large War picture. A Mural in front of it caught his attention, and so, out of some nostalgic feeling, he decided to quickly read it.

It read: **_"This mural commemorates the many sacrifices of the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. From Lexington and Concord to the shores of Iwo Jima, from the Sea of Tranquillity to the Anchorage Front Line, Americans have fought and died through the ages to secure our nation's freedom. May their sacrifices remind us all that freedom is a privilege afforded to the many, yet hard won by a noble few."_**

The Mural text, as well as the picture brought a brief smile to Nate's face before his attention was pulled away by voices close by.

"C'mon man, lets just make a break for the door, no point in waiting around for some vaultee, a flying trash can and some mutt to come and try an' kill us." a whispered voice could be heard saying that instantly caught the trio's attention, and gave away the Raider's element of surprise.

"Quit bein' such a fuckin' pansy, we hold out as long as we can do for the others. What the fuck are you, deaf ? Those punks are cutting through our people for Christ sake! Now, you'll help me kill these fucks, because if i even see you run for an exit i swear i'll gut you myself!" another voice replied, with much anger in his threatening tone.

"Jeez, alright, alright. Christ."

"Now shut up will ya, we gotta get the drop on these guys."

Nate realised the voices were coming from the rather large hole in the wall to his right. He acted quickly and opened up his backpack. Deciding what would be the most effective against the Raiders.

"Yeah, you'll do. Time to see what you're really capable of!" Nate whispered, to no-one in particular. He zipped up his bag and slung it back over his shoulders.

" _Codsworth_." Nate whispered

" _Yes, Sir ?_ " Codsworth replied, in his low volume setting

" _Think you could poke one of your eye stalks around the corner of that hole that goes into the next room. See if those 'Raider' guys are waiting down the other end of the next room, so that they don't get the jump on us._ " Nate quietly requested

" _Excellent suggestion, Sir!_ " Codsworth said as he hovered over to the giant hole in the wall. He extended the eye-stalk on the right side of his dome into the next room.

" **COR BLIMEY!** " Codsworth yelled as gunfire erupted in his direction, he turned all three eye-stalks to face his master before saying in a calm tone. "I do believe i found the hostiles, Sir."

A faint smirk crept onto Nate's face before fading away again, Codsworth always did have the best reactions to things.

"Alrighty...time to try this out." he said as he got down on his stomach and crawled slowly into the next room.

Spotting the Raiders and raising the Cryolator up, Nate pulled the trigger back, and as he did he felt a cold breeze brush over his left hand.

Out of the barrel sprayed a icy, almost flame like cloud. There had still been gunfire directed towards Nate, and yet, he was unharmed. The shooting had stopped suddenly, Nate lifted his finger off the trigger and when the icy cloud faded he was amazed at the sight in front of his eyes.

The two Raiders were frozen solid, they looked like ice sculptures!

"Wow...i wasn't expecting that result!" Nate said

"I say! How very impressive indeed! Where did you come across this magnificent creation, Sir ?" Codsworth asked, in equal amazement.

"In Vault 111, i'll tell you about the Vault later." Nate responded

Nate walked over to the two frozen Raiders and began to inspect them. One Raider had his mouth closed shut, and the other had his wide open, which meant the whole inside of his mouth and even some of his throat must also be frozen.

"I'm sorry you ended up with this type of life." he said to the frozen men, before pulling out his 10mm and shooting the frozen Raiders in their heads, the result being the Raiders entire heads shattering into many individual pieces. Nate hadn't expected their heads to explode the way they did.

He looked at his companions and motioned to them with his head to keep moving.

The trio found another broken down wall behind where the Raiders had came from, going through there led to more stairs.

At the top of the stairs, they bumped into another Raider, and before the startled man could get more than two words out he was frozen by the Cryolator.

Nate just walked past him and ignored the frozen man, to focus on the rest of the threats.

But Codsworth stopped and studied the freshly made ice sculpture.

"Stay Frosty!" he commented, before he giggled like a child and hovered off after Nate.

Opening the door that lead onto the balcony that overlooked the entrance, Nate heard two more voices to his right, yelling and threatening to do horrible things to the man and his group. Nate emerged and fired the Cryolator at them. But felt confused when the two men were still shouting and shooting at him despite the spray of his Cryo weapon, however, walking closer to them solved that problem.

Nate realised when firing the icy spray, it fades away at mid-range. Meaning, it's best used for close combat shootouts. He also realised that the power of the weapons spray can stop bullets from hitting him if he fires the weapon close enough to the attacker.

"Hey! Mister! It's clear out here, those guys are dealt with!" Nate yelled towards the closed door which the Raiders had been trying to break down, hearing a muffled " _Oh, thank god!_ " on the other side of the door in response to the news.

" _Okay, that's the last of them...for now. We have a stranger, a Mister Handy and a familiar face to thank for that, i'm gonna let them in. Don't worry, i'm certain that they're no threat."_ The man's muffled voice announced to his group.

The handle twisted and the door opened. Revealing the man from the balcony.

* * *

He had on an aged and dirty, beige coloured longcoat on top of a long waist coat with a fancy blue and yellow design with a dirty turquoise scarf wrapped around his neck. He had dark grey mucky trousers and light brown, worn boots.

He wore long black gloves, there was dark brown belt with a radio attached positioned just under his shoulder, the belt was buckled around his chest. He wore a belt around his waist around the outside of his jacket, with an ammo pouch attached to one side, and there was a piece of darker clothing wrapped around the middle of the mans right arm, and lastly he had on a dark brown cowboy hat with one side clipped up.

* * *

"Hey, come on in here." The man said, motioning for the trio to enter the room.

As they entered the room, the Dog ran ahead past Nate and up to the man, who look surprised and then smiled with relief.

Kneeling down to pet him the man said. "Hey Dogmeat, good to see you again boy, you brought us some friends, eh ?"

"Dogmeat ? He serious ?" Nate found himself asking in his head. "Not the first name i'd have given a dog..."

Walking away from the men, 'Dogmeat' strolled away and sat himself down next to an old lady sitting on a couch.

Now standing back up, the man took another step towards Nate and Codsworth.

"Man, i don't know who you guys are, but your timing's impeccable! Name's Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minutemen." The man said with a relieved smile, extending his arm to offer a handshake.

"Nate Johnson." said Nate as he shook Preston's hand.

"And this is my Mister Handy, Codsworth."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr Garvey!" Codsworth said in his normal, cheerful voice, even saluting Garvey with his pincer arm.

"We're all very lucky you three came along when you did, i thought this was it for us." Preston admitted, as he placed the butt his rifle on the floor and held it by it's long wooden barrel.

"Hey, we were glad to help you folks out. It was the right thing to do." Nate spoke, as he looked around the room before resuming eye contact and offering a brief smile.

Garvey looked pleasantly taken aback by the comment.

"Well if that's true, we could really use some more good will. Look man, i know you two don't owe us anymore than you've already done. But as you can see, we're in a bit of a mess here. These Raiders have been after us for about half a damn month now, and i'm pretty certain another group of 'em are gonna turn up anywhere between now and the next half an hour.

I just wanna get these settlers somewhere where they can actually be safe, where we can be able to keep them safe. But so far all i'm doing is failing." Preston said through gritted teeth, his expression turning from one of relief and happiness, to frustration, to sadness.

"Hey look, we'll gladly help you folks out however we can do. But who are you people, and...what exactly happened to you and your group, if you don't mind me asking..." Nate asked politely, as he took glances at the other four people in the room.

* * *

The elderly woman on the couch, dressed in a fancy turquoise outfit accompanied by equally fancy headwear, with 'Dogmeat' resting at her feet.

A man in a tattered t-shirt and jeans with messy, un-combed hair, curled up into a ball and rocking back and forth muttering something to himself quietly.

This angry looking, dirt covered woman in a plaid brown shirt, pacing back and forth impatiently with her arms crossed.

And a man with a fancy hairstyle, dressed in overalls filled with tools and duct tape typing away on the rooms terminal.

* * *

"They're just folks lookin' for a new home. A fresh start...I've been with 'em since Quincy. When we got to Lexington, it looked good for a while, but then the damn Ghouls drove us outta there, and split us up from some of our group." Preston sighed sadly, closing his eyes before he continued. Obviously beating himself up and blaming himself for the event that unfolded on their journey.

"A month ago, there were 20 of us. Yesterday there were 10. Half an hour ago we were 6. And now, we're 5. It's just me, the Longs - Marcy and Jun - Old Mama Murphy on the couch there. And this here's Sturges." Preston concluded, pointing to each individual before pointing behind him at 'Sturges'

"I'm sorry you've went through that. Truly. Sounds rough." Nate said sincerely.

"You have our deepest sympathies in such a horrible time, Mr Garvey." Codsworth added.

"Thanks...Both of you, It's...It's good to meet people who really seems to care." Preston said with a faint smile, his expression of sadness and regret changing to surprise and appreciation.

"Anyway, we had all hoped Concord would be the next best safe place to settle. But then those scumbag Raiders proved us wrong on that hope. And now, well. We've only got one last, potentially good idea left when it comes to a place to settle." Preston told Nate, looking him in the eye, looking defeated for a moment.

"Hey c'mon Preston, one good idea can make all the difference." Nate responded, offering Preston a supportive smile.

Preston lightened up, returned the smile and chuckled "I wish you could've met my squad before...before all this hell, they all would've liked you. Now, Sturges. Tell our new friend here our plan."

The man, Sturges, turned away from the terminal to face Nate. "Hey, nice to meet ya Nate. I'm Sturges." he said now also offering his hand.

Shaking hands with Nate, Sturges greeted Codsworth also. "Hi there, uh, Cods...what was it again ?" he asked

"Codsworth, my good sir."

"Right. Well, nice to meet you too anyway."

"Now, about our plan. There's a crashed Vertibird up on the roof. Old School. Pre-War. You might've seen it on yer way up here. Well look anyways, one of its passengers left a seriously sweet goodie behind. What we're talkin' about is a full suit of cherry T-45 Power Armor. Military Issue. Paint job is all gone, but should still work like a charm."

Nate's lips curled up into a mischievous smile. "Excellent."

"Heh heh heh heh, yeah, i thought you'd like it. Protection. But, with an added bonus on top of that." Sturges said, sitting on the desk and folding his arms.

"Go on." Nate said, waiting in anticipation.

"There's still a Mini-Gun attached to the Vertibird. Still got plenty of ammo in it too. So, once you get the suit, then you can just rip the Mini-Gun right offa its stand." Sturges reached his hands out and clenched them tight, smiling the whole time he talked.

"Do that, and boy will those Raiders have an express ticket to hell. Heh heh heh, you dig ?"

"Power Armor. Mini-Gun. Yeah, with our combined strength those Raiders are fucked." Nate responded.

"I know, right. Only...well, there's one problem. The suit's been outta juice for a looooong time. Probably been dry for the last 200 or so years. It _can_ be powered up again, but it needs a-"

"A Fusion Core." Nate cut him off, earning raised eyebrows and a smirk from Sturges.

Sturges let out a brief laugh. "Well hot damn, took the words straight outta my mouth."

"Sir ?" Codsworth said

"Yes, Codsworth ?" Nate asked, turning to look at the robot's eye-stalk.

"I would be glad to go back downstairs and retrieve the Fusion Core if you wish. More so if it would allow you to rest briefly." Nate was happily surprised by Codsworth's offer, but still felt he had to voice his doubts.

"Codsworth, i appreciate your offer but what about the fact that a locked up security cage stands between us and the generator ?" Nate asked

"Ha! Poppycock! Fear not, Sir. One of my base functions includes how to open any locked doors, in the event of a house fire, you see. So i am quite 'Handy' when it comes to opening doors, A-ha!"

"That'd be a great help, Codsworth. Cause without that Power Armor i don't know if we can hold out much longer. Low enough on ammo as it is." Sturges admitted

"Excellent! I shall go and retrieve it at once!" Codsworth responded and then hovered out the door.

Nate watched his companion leave the room and then turned back to speak to Sturges.

"Do you mind if i just sit and sort out my inventory ?" Nate politely asked

"Nah, course not. Go ahead buddy." Sturges replied

Dogmeat sat up and wagged his tail as Nate walked over to the couch, Nate chuckled and scratched behind his ear, making the hound begin to kick one of his back legs constantly with a quiet moan.

"Aw. Is that nice, buddy, eh ?" Nate said as Dogmeat enjoyed the scratch.

Nate looked up at the old lady who Dogmeat sat at the feet of. He asked "Do you mind if i sit next to you, ma'am ?"

"No, no. Please, sit down." the lady responded

Taking a seat on the couch next to her the old lady continued speaking. "Dogmeat really seems to like you. He brought you straight to us. Knew we needed help ya see."

"He's a good dog, smart too, and he's remarkably well trained. He yours ?" Nate asked the woman as he unzipped his bag.

"Nah, no he ain't my dog Sir. No, Dogmeat's what you'd call his own man. You can't own a free spirit like that. See, he's good at finding folks who need him, who need help. He chooses his own friends and sticks with 'em. He really likes you and your robot, and i know he'll stay with you now. I saw it!"

"You...saw it ?" Nate asked in light confusion.

"Oh...ha, just listen to me, actin' the crazy old woman. It's the chems you see. They give me _'The Sight'_. A special gift i have, had it since i was a little girl." the old lady explained

"If that's true, then...that's...that's incredible!" Nate told her, as he sorted his weapons into more appropriate positions, to make carrying his pack smoother for his back.

"I can see a bit of what was, and what will be, and...even what is, right now." Mama Murphy closed her eyes and remained silent momentarily.

"And right now i can see there's something...very dangerous hiding somewhere here in Concord. And it'll soon be drawn out...by the noise, and the chaos, and it is...it is angry." Mama Murphy told him, opening her eyes again

"What is it ? Mama Murphy, i need more. Please. If you can tell me then it could help me defend against it better." Nate said as he turned to her and calmly demanded.

She looked away from Nate now, closing her eyes once more, as she seemed to now be focusing solely on her 'Sight'

"I see...i see... _Oh,_ _it's horrible_ , kid! Sharp claws and...large teeth, and even larger horns. The very face of **death** **itself!** "

Mama Murphy then let out a low grunt and seemed to appear to struggle for breath briefly. "Sorry kid, that's all i can manage i'm afraid."

"Are you alright ?" Nate asked her.

"Yeah, yeah, i'm fine don't worry. I thin-"

 ***BANG***

Nate and the group of settlers were all startled by a gunshot, and all jumped from their positions. They all were completely silent now, mostly in fear and worry. Dogmeat faced the balcony door and began to growl, only stopping when Mama Murphy calmed him down. Preston took a moment until he pulled his rifle up and held the grips tight. He remained as still as a statue for a few more seconds, pondering his next move, until quickly cranking his rifle three times.

" **COWBOY! IT'S YER OLD PAL GRISTLE, WHY DON'T YA COME ON OUT TO THE BALCONY! HAVE US A CHAT!** "

* * *

 **Hope you guys liked that chapter. If you did be sure to leave a Review, i could always do with suggestions for future chapters, plus i love hearing feedback from my followers :)**


	7. Chapter 7: The 9ft Demon

**_So i know i said that this Chapter would be out the same day as the last one, but then i got a brainwave of ideas for scenes and dialogue to add in. Anyway, hopefully it's a enjoyable read for you guys._**

* * *

" **HEEEY! OH,** **COWBOY! IT'S YER OLD PAL GRISTLE! WE KNOW THAT YOU'RE HIDING UP THERE! SO WHY DON'T YA COME ON OUT TO THE BALCONY! LET'S HAVE US A CHAT!** " a gravely voice yelled from the street below.

Preston's eyes widened in sudden realisation as he stared down at the floor, and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He even started to zone out temporarily, as his thoughts were now currently elsewhere.

"Gristle!" Preston muttered angrily through gritted teeth as his anger levels rose once again.

"Wait, what ? Hold on now. That fucker again ? I though you ended him back in Lexington ?!" Sturges quickly asked in disbelief.

Preston remained quiet.

"Well...Shit! Preston man, unless Codsworth gets back up here with that Fusion Core in the next minute or two, then those fuckers might decide to storm in here, and we're already low enough on ammo as it is! If they rush in here, we could be cornered again!" Sturges said as he picked up his double-barrel shotgun he'd placed up against the side of the desk.

Preston began to pace back and forth between the door and the desk, clearly panicking, and continuously muttering 'Fuck!'.

" **WE WON'T SHOOT UNLESS YOU DO FIRST! AND, WE WON'T STORM THAT ROOM YOU'RE HOLED UP IN, UNLESS YOU DECIDE TO BE REALLY STUPID! NOW LISTEN, I'M WILLING TO OFFER YOU A DEAL TO SAVE YERSELVES. THIS ONE TIME ONLY! SO YOU COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW COWBOY, IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE, THAT IS!** " Gristle demanded, following up with a loud, mocking chuckle.

Preston's eyes darted all around the room uncontrollably, until he just completely froze up and had to take a deep breath. His legs were shaking ever so slightly, he was exhaling through his nose like an angry bull, and his eyes told many stories of regret as they now scanned over each individual member of his group, before he just wordlessly turned and moved for the door to the balcony, only to have Sturges grab his arm and stop him.

"Whoa there Pres! You know if you step out there, then they'll just straight up shoot ya!" Sturges said as he moved himself in front of Preston, who didn't even look at Sturges, and only sighed tiredly in response.

Marcy followed suite and stormed over to his other side and looked up at his regret-filled face, before adding, "Yeah, are you a fucking idiot Garvey ?! Those are Raiders out there, not some fucking peaceful soldier-boys! They'll just shoot you the second they see you! We need you to stay alive to get us the hell out of here!"

Preston turned to look at her, and then turned to look at Sturges and sighed - "Look, i am sick and tired of these god damn Raiders! **WE ALL ARE!** But where else can we go ?! How long 'till they'd find us again ?! Our only exit outta this building is that fucking way!" Preston replied, pointing in the direction of the balcony door before slumping down in a seat next to the door and pinching the top of his nose in frustration.

Nate now piped up and said "Hey, look maybe I could go out and talk to them, and y'know, grab some clothes off one of the corpses and pose as one of their crew. Tell them that you and your group are dead and that there's nothing for them here. I know that seems like a long shot but it just might stop them from storming the place..."

Preston looked up at Nate and he immediately shook his head. "I appreciate the thought Nate, but it wouldn't stop these Raiders, and i dunno how much longer we can stall them for."

Once again, the group were all silent. No one said another word.

 **"GARVEY! THIS IS YER LAST FUCKIN' CHANCE TO MAKE A DEAL AND LIVE ANOTHER DAY! IN THE NEXT MINUTE OR TWO WE _WILL_ STORM OUR WAY IN!" **Gristle yelled up, sounding more angry than the last time he'd opened his mouth.

Preston put his head in his hands and thought to himself about this supposed 'offer'..." _Maybe this is my last and only chance to save what remains of these good people...Fuck!_ "

He inhaled deeply and stood up. "I'm gonna go out there and have a word with him. I know what might happen to me out there. I'm completely aware. But, damn it all, i _have_ to try and save you guys somehow! If this is the only way i can...well then, i _have_ to try!" Preston emotionally announced, as he walked over to the door out onto the balcony.

"Ey! We all know you've always been trying your damned hardest to keep us all safe man, hell even Marcy knows that. _Course, not that she'd ever admit_." Sturges muttered, as he stared Marcy down, before continuing. -"But still. Look, we all appreciate what you've done and what you keep doing for us man, and i, for one, trust your judgement. So go ahead and speak with those fucks, just remember that we got yer back when things go sour." Sturges told him as he clapped his hand on Preston's shoulder and then leaned up against the wall next to the balcony door, before nodding at him.

...

The balcony doors creaked open and Preston heard the 'dealmaker' bark out an order " **NONE OF YOU FUCKIN' FUCKERS DO JACK SHIT, UNLESS I SAY SO!"**

Preston emerged from the temporary safety of the stuffy, small room out into the fresh air again, to face the second group of pursuing Raiders.

He counted a group of around nine or ten Raiders, all armed to the teeth with superior weapons to that of what the first group that attacked had been using. The raider stood in front of them all stood out from the rest, as he was the leader of their group...and a familiar face to Preston.

This guy was a dirty faced man dressed in some pretty mucky leather pants along with a faded, and torn leather jacket. The man had a large pale blue Mohawk, aswell as a Goatee of the same colour. This was the dealmaker that Preston knew of, who went by the name of **'Gristle'**

" **Ay! Well, heh-heh-heh-hey there, Cowboy** **!"** Gristle laughed out.

 **"Your offer! What is it ?!"** Preston quickly yelled down, clearly in no mood for small talk.

 **"-Ooh! Straight to the point ? C'mon Cowboy, don't be so fuckin' boring! Let's keep this interesting atleast! Besides, this is a deal that you'd be fuckin' brain-dead stupid to refuse!** " Gristle yelled up at Preston, presenting a constant, mile-long grin the entire time.

 **"Oh really, is that so ?! So tell me then, cause i'm curious! Why the hell should i make a deal with you ?! Hell, why would i ever ?! You're raider scum, Gristle! What's to stop one of your buddies there from shooting us all if we tried to leave after this 'deal' ?!"** Preston shouted back in response, his tone filled with pure anger and hatred.

" **Well, for starters, it'll get us to let you farmers and soldier-boys leave this town in one piece, completely unharmed! This one time! I'll personally make sure my boys don't shoot, just this once.** **So, if you and your farmer pals up there wanna live, then there's just _one_ reason! ****But ONLY if you cooperate, comprende ?** " Gristle replied, honestly sounding sincere.

" **Hell naw, man! I don't trust one single word outta your mouth, raider! You're all raping, murdering scum-bags! And i reckon that the minute you get whatever it is you want from us, that you'd turn your guns on us anyway! Just for the 'fun of it'!** " Preston argued back, knowing the type of person he was dealing with well.

" **Ooo! Can't say i'm not tempted Cowboy! But i got my orders, so here's our offer! You hand us over the old woman, uh...what was it again, "Mama Murphy" is it ? We need her! Oh, and uh...hell, throw in that fancy-looking hat of yours while yer at it! Do that, and i swear on my pop's life, that we'll let the rest of yous live, and then we'll leave you be!** "

Preston was shocked, quite frankly. " **What !? HELL NO! FUCK THAT SHIT! I'll NEVER hand a innocent settler over to a group of filthy fucking Raiders! You aren't getting her! Jesus Christ, what do you even want her for !?** " Preston shouted back in confused anger!

Gristle laughed again. " **Boss wants her brought to him. Says he knew her when he just was a kid, and that she has this special type ah superpower or sum' shit. Way he talks about her, makes it seem like he just wants to fuck her, thinkin' it'll give him her power! HA! Maybe he thinks he can have an super-powered army of raiders that have her power, hahah! And i want that hat on your head cause i reckon it would make all the girls back at base wet! Hehe-ha-ha!** "

" **Never! I will _never_ make that deal!**" Preston yelled, getting ready to either dive back inside or shoot down Gristle.

Gristle grunted in disappointment and reacted unexpectedly. " **Well if you won't co-operate, then hows' about you let that Vault-Dweller come out an' talk, huh ? Was wanting a word with him anyway!** "

Nate, hearing this from inside, was caught off-guard and rather shocked. He instantly felt panic form inside him. How did they know _he_ was up here ?

" **A Vault-Dweller ? Don't know what you mean! There's no Vault-Dweller up here with us!** " Preston responded, trying to hide Nate's presence.

" **HA! Yeah there is! We found one of our own tied up and hidden in an old car near an alley. Said a Vault-Dweller and his bot knocked her out after saying that we were 'the bad guys' and that they were gonna kill our guys to help out the man they were attacking!** " Gristle replied

Suddenly a familiar female voice spoke up, shouting - " **Vaulty! Oh, Vaulty! I'm baaaaac-** "

 ***SMACK!***

A sudden, unexpected backhand to the face shut her up!

" **I'm doing the talkin' here, Slut! Not you!** " Gristle yelled at her.

" **You get him out here, right now! Or we're coming in!** " Gristle demanded

Nate quickly walked over to Preston. "Preston. Let me go out and talk to him. It'll buy us enough time until Codsworth gets back here with that Fusion Core."

Preston hesitated for a moment, but ultimately agreed and walked back inside.

Taking his place out on the balcony, Nate saw all ten of the Raiders - including that girl that he had tied up and hidden.

" **Well hi there, Vaulty! So nice to meet you! Now, I gotta say...i'm surprised. You coulda just killed lil' Kitee here, but instead ya tied her up and let her live, fuck knows why, but i'm grateful! So, from me personally - Thanks! I couldn't imagine what i'd of done if i'd lose my 'play toy'! Ha-ha!** " Gristle said with a toothy grin.

Nate felt sick as he tried to avoid imagining what the raider meant by that.

" **She ain't a toy! She's just a young, dumb and misguided girl! Now tell me! Why the fuck do you wanna speak to _me_ ?** " Nate asked

" **Cause you spared our 'fun-time', and proved you can get tough shit done by killing all the boys that came through here before us! You're a powerhouse! Just what we need! So i'm gonna make you a proposal!** "

Nate's eyebrows began to turn downwards into an angry glare more and more as each second past.

" **We're obviously in need of many new members, and with a badass like you, we won't need as many bodies as we had before! So i want you to join our gang! We'll all put in a good word to the boss, and we'll even give ya your own set of armor, so's that you can get rid of that fuckin' eyesore Vault-Suit you got on right now, even let you keep all your weapons...and uh, tell ya what. I'll even give up Kitee here, and let her be your personal bitch, seeing as she's taken a real likin' to you! We'll give you all that, but only on the condition that you bring us the old bitch, added bonus if you bring me that cowboy's hat. Kill those farmers, or don't. Your choice. You could easily overpower 'em if you decide to do the logical thing, i'm convinced. So you do all that, and you're in. Hows that sound ?** " Gristle asked, laying out his offer.

"Don't even tell me you're even considering that." Preston warned Nate from behind, sounding almost threatening. In response, Nate turned to face Preston and simply winked before whispering " _Just trust me, man. I got this._ "

Nate turned back to the Raiders. " **Alright! Could you give me a moment to _*cough* *cough*_ , _'convince'_ them ?** "

A wide grin curled up Gristle's face, showing off his filthy yellow teeth.

" **Hells yeah, of course we can! Bring us that woman and the cowboys hat! I don't care how you do it. Deliver that to us, and as far as i'm concerned you're in! I'll even personally put in a good word to the Boss, provided you don't fuck this up!** " Gristle shouted up.

Nate closed the balcony door and faced Preston, who started talking in an angry tone. "Don't you dare tell me yo-" He was quickly interrupted.

"Don't worry, Garvey. I'm not giving them 'Mama Murphy', and besides, i would **never** betray you or your group to help _them_. Those people are disgusting monsters! _*sigh*_ I hate killing people...but i've killed before...and i can do it again, especially when the people i have to kill are a threat to the lives of the innocent. Besides, i've already killed some of their men anyways. These people aren't giving us any other choice here. They have to die." Nate proclaimed.

Preston exhaled with relief. "Oh thank god! And thank you, Nate. I'm...look, i'm really sorry i just questioned you there after what you've already done for us all, i'm just...i'm so on edge lately, we've been through far too much bad shit, and...anyway, like you said you would do, you've bought us some more time. Let's make sure it wasn't for nothing!"

Funnily enough, at that very moment, Codsworth returned with the Fusion Core in his pincer hand.

"Master Nate. Mister Garvey. I have retrieved the Fusion Core!" he announced.

Sturges and Preston were both very relieved at the news and both began to smile widely.

"Hell yes! Good work Codsworth! Looks like it's time to power that baby up!" Sturges exclaimed with excitement!

"So who's using the Power Armor ? I'd use it myself seeing as i know how to work a frame of Power Armor inside and out, but i ain't much of a fighter...just a damn good mechanic. So, who wants the honour ? Nate, or Preston ?" Sturges followed up by asking.

"I'll do it!" Nate answered first. "-I've used Power Armor before, in the past. I've had quite a lot of training with Power Armor, and i have Military experience too. I can use it!"

Preston didn't even argue. "Excellent! Alright Nate, go power it up. I'll get ready to get back out on the balcony to provide backup for you once you start shooting at them. I'll wait for your signal. But don't wait too long. If Raiders are one thing above all else, it's impatient. So lets do this!" Preston told Nate with a smile.

Nate went to head out but stopped himself, as he decided to place down the Laser Musket he'd taken from outside on the desk next to Sturges.

"I believe this belongs to you guys."

Preston stared down at the weapon and looked at it like it was more than just that. Before he snapped himself out of it, and said "Appreciate it."

"Okay then. Codsworth, if you'll hand me the Fusion Core and follow me please." Nate said to his trusty robotic butler

"At once, Sir!" Codsworth said, handing over the giant battery and mockingly saluting him.

Nate left his backpack at the couch and then remembered something important inside it. "Ooh! Yeah by the way, Garvey. I'm gonna leave my bag here with yous, so if your fancy laser rifle there gets damaged at all, then i've got a special weapon in my bag that you could use as a backup."

Preston looked down at the bag, then nodded to Nate. "Got it, thanks. I'll only use it if it's absolutely necessary."

As Nate and Codsworth went to leave the room to go retrieve the Power Armor, Dogmeat stood up and shook himself off before trotting after them. Nate turned and knelt down, and he put his hand on Dogmeat's back.

"No, no, boy. It's way too dangerous for you out there. Stay in here, okay ?" Nate told the ever loyal little dog.

Dogmeat gave a sad whine in response but still complied with the request, opting to curl up at Mama Murphy's feet again.

Nate and Codsworth sped towards the door directly underneath where the destroyed rotor of the Vertibird was sticking through the roof, and upon opening the door, there it was!

Stood in front of the two was a full suit of T-45 power armor, with it's back to them. Left standing just outside of the crashed Vertibird, and even though it was incredibly rusty Nate knew it shouldn't affect it's overall performance whatsoever.

Thinking it wise to do a quick inspection the armor for any major damage nonetheless, Nate did a quick walk around the suit, checking for any sort of damage - especially in the eye-slits, even though Nate already knew the eye-slits of the T-series were bulletproof, but still, he just wanted to be absolutely sure.

Satisfied with the suits overall condition, Nate inserted the Fusion Core into its slot, and turned the release valve so that the back of the suit would open up, and be ready for him to enter. Before he entered it though, he turned and noticed a holotape labelled 'Personal Log' on the desk next to him, with a holster beside it.

He strapped the holster around his chest and placed the holotape in a slot.

Nate turned back and climbed into the Power Armor.

It closed up behind him and tightened itself to secure him inside, followed by his view changing from just the small window the eye-slits provided, to the full '180, open front of helmet' view, complete with the familiar enough orange coloured dials and icons showing off the state of everything.

...

The percentage of the Fusion Core was at 100%. The vitals and overall health of the 'pilot' were perfectly fine, and lastly - the condition of each individual part of the Power Armor was shown in the left centre of the view, and it showed him that the 'health' of the left leg, and the right arm of this armor were badly damaged. But apart from those two sections all the other pieces appeared to be in perfect condition.

...

Nate started stretching out and bending his arms out in many different angles, followed by bending his legs, and lastly - cracking his knuckles. He was just making sure that none of the sections were too stiff to work or move about properly.

Marching forward in the armor up into the downed Vertibird, Nate found the old Mini-gun that Sturges had mentioned, already loaded up with a full drum. There was another two full drums laying in the Vertibird's weapons stash along with a few fusion cells, but unfortunately nothing more than that.

Nate used his new suits strength to rip the Mini-gun straight from it's stand, and was reminded just how much weight a Mini-gun had to it, even despite the added strength the suit provided him with.

As he continued taking steps forward he was reminded just how loud his steps were in Power Armor.

So he ascended out the other side of the Vertibird and over the rubble as quietly as possible. When he reached the other side of the Vertibird he saw a Raider standing on the roof of the building opposite him, with his weapon was trained on the balcony door. Nate took a second to aim his Mini-gun, and then, despite some brief hesitation, pulled the trigger.

The barrel of the weapon took a few seconds more than usual to fire as it started to spin to life, likely must've been because of all the years it'd just sat there. But it would still fire atleast, and Nate reminded himself that when it did fire it would quickly rain hellfire on whosoever got in it's way.

"They made their choice!" Nate told himself, knowing it was for the greater good.

The Raider on the opposite roof was instantly cut in half by the sheer power of the Mini-gun!

" **WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK!? WHERE'S THAT SHOOTING COMING FROM ?!** " Gristle screamed from the street below.

Nate walked up to the edge of the roof and looked down at where he last saw Gristle and his group, half had already scattered in opposite directions whilst Gristle and the others stood completely still. Simply frozen in shock and fear.

Gristle looked up at where Nate was stood and fired his gun at him, as he yelled " **WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ?! IS THAT POWER ARMOR !?** "

Now Nate would turn his weapon to face Gristle and his buddies.

" **GARVEY ?! THAT YOU IN THERE, YOU COWARD ?!** " Gristle screamed.

" **NOPE!** " Nate heard Preston yell from the balcony below.

" **YOU FUCKING SHEE-GAAAH!** "

The next thing Nate heard was Preston's rifle go off, and the next thing he _saw_ was Gristle scream out in pain and instantly grab the side of his stomach before stumbling off up the street to find cover.

Nate fired off his Mini-gun at the Raiders he could still see, swiftly taking down or injuring around about two to three of them still stood out in the open, as he fired the weapon from the right to the left.

However, the remaining Raiders quickly retreated even further away from his position, now having the buildings in the way of Nate and the rest of them.

"Codsworth. Looks like we're gonna have to go down there to finish the rest of them off, we can't risk them coming back to attack Preston and his people later." Nate said half turning his head to speak to Codsworth.

"I understand, Sir. I'll be right behind you!" Codsworth said, flying back to the door into the museum.

"Then lets not waste any more time, buddy." Nate yelled, turning his head back towards the gunfight.

" _Hmm, surely the legs can still withstand the impact of it..._ " Nate mumbled to himself as he look over the edge of the building.

"What was that, Sir ?" Codsworth asked in confusion as he turned around to face him.

Nate, without another word, ran towards and leapt off the edge of the building. Landing on the ground with a loud and powerful **THUD!**

The powerful hydraulic shock absorption system section of the suit's frame still did its job, and prevented his legs from taking any form of damage. Nate rose up from his crouched 'superhero' pose, and looked through the broken windows of the shop that was right ahead of him to look for any of the raiders. He could see the remaining Raiders all hiding behind sandbag walls and broken down cars.

He heard Codsworth call out from above - "Coming, Sir!"

Turning back to deal with the threats, Nate marched over towards the main street, and was instantly struck with bullets from a few different directions the second he became visible to them. Although he just ignored the hail of bullets as he walked over to a Raider who was laying on his back next to a sandbag, and appeared to be holding his stomach tightly.

Nate looked down at him, but the Raider saw him and foolishly pulled out one of those rusty revolver weapons and fired two shots directly at the eye-slits of Nate's helmet.

The bullets he fired simply bounced off, having no effect. Although this action caught Nate off-guard, and really pissed him off. This raider could've just laid there, or even apologised, even if he didn't mean it. Just to save his life atleast...but no...no, the fool chose to try and murder him.

"Dumbass. Lets see how you like this." Nate muttered, as he kicked the Raider squarely in the teeth, kicked him over onto his side and then placed his foot directly onto his head and started slowly applying pressure to the Raider's head.

He turned around and raised his Mini-gun to start firing back at the other raiders again - blowing up an old, broken down truck with the sheer power of his rapidly-firing Mini-Gun, which killed atleast three more Raiders in the process.

The whole time though, there was this truly horrible screaming that lasted for around about half a minute, before it the screaming instantly stopped, as the Raider's skull popped and his whole head exploded.

...

And it was then, when Nate finally started to calm down again, that he suddenly realised that he had just gone from the guy who said that he hating being forced into killing people again, to just straight up being totally fine with torturing someone and giving them a very painful death...

 _"Jesus man, was **that** really necessary ?! One of the main reasons you left the Army was because you didn't wanna start to get a craving for blood ? Do you want to develop a bloodlust motherfucker ?!" _ Nate asked himself, mid-fight.

At that moment Codsworth appeared from the museum's front doors and quickly explained himself - "Sorry i took a tad longer than you would've liked, Sir. There was a spot of bother with a few Raiders who'd managed to get past you and into the museum. They attacked Mr. Garvey's group, you see."

Nate felt instant panic inside him and he switched his attention away from the Raider corpse with the pancake head, asking - "Shit. Are they okay ?!"

"Yes, Sir. Mr Sturges and i dealt with them swiftly." Codsworth replied.

Nate let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god! Good work, buddy. Now could you help me clean house ? There's only a few of them left to deal with. C'mon!" Nate said as he resumed combat with the remaining raiders, walking slowly towards them menacingly, like some sort of demon playing with their heads.

...

Nate and Codsworth pushed on, and with sniper support from Preston, soon the street fell quiet. The 'Tin-men' walked to the end of the street to make certain all the raiders were dead, coming to a stop next to the destroyed Drug-store they'd inspected upon their arrival here earlier.

When suddenly Nate's helmet was struck with rapid-fire shotgun shells! - "Mother-shit!" Nate shouted in surprise.

"Guessing that's you then, Vaultie ?! Bad choice, Prick! Bad fucking choice!" Gristle said as he limped out from the devastated, wooden building draped in flags to Nate's right, hunched over and holding his stomach tightly.

He knew he could just end the Raiders life here, but for now Nate kept his weapon lowered.

"Yeeeah, i wasn't ever going to let good, innocent people get taken away by a group of people like yours. You're a junkie, a liar, a rapist, and a murderer, and i won't let you and yours ever get your filthy little hands on anyone else, ever again." Nate told the injured Raider with sheer hatred in his tone.

"Ugh, man! Jared could've given you whatever shit you wanted out here! _***cough***_ Women to fuck, a roof over your head, a big choice of weapons, friends wh- ** _*cough*_** Who were into the same kinky shit as you. Bu-But- _ ***cough*-**_ But you had to shit all over that by siding with a goody-two shoes coward and some weak ass, emotional farmers! He'll find you, you know! And he'll fuck you and those farmers up so bad, you'd-you'd better believe that shit!" Gristle yelled at him, with equal hatred in his tone.

"You people are absolute scum, you know that ? Just killing or raping innocent people for no reason whatsoever! Fuck...i mean, I hate killing, but you scumbags have made me cross that line again...and you know what ? I was conflicted about having to kill your and your people earlier...but now ? Now i _**am** _ glad that i've killed all of your people! If your boss and anyone else out there is like you, then they should expect the same fate." Nate said, sounding a cheerier form of angry, an almost...psychotic tone of voice the longer he went on.

"Fuckin' pussy. Well go on then! Fucking kill me too then, big man!" Gristle coughed out threateningly.

Nate sighed, and was ready to strike him when, suddenly, a loud bang came from behind Gristle, and then another, and another. These loud bangs were followed up by a sewer grate suddenly flying up in the air and landing across the street, revealing a large hole in the road where it had just been flung from.

 _"What the fuck is down there ?!"_ Nate immediately asked himself, as he quickly began to panic.

...

What followed was the horrifying reveal of a large, scaly hand, with larger, razor-sharp claws reach up out of the hole and grab the edge. Followed by a loud, fear inciting growl.

"OH SHIT! WE'RE BOTH FUCKE- _ ***COUGH* *COUGH***_ WE'RE FUCKED, WE GOTTA RUN!" Gristle said in sudden fear, shockingly trying to warn Nate of the danger, only to end up coughing violently, and spitting up blood.

And then Nate saw what that growl belonged to...

A large, terrifying monster pulled itself out of the hole and instantly looked down at the three of them, and it just stood there, quietly growling.

Nate took a quick look at it, to study it, as he was hoping to identify a weakness, if there was any...

* * *

The monster was a tall, yet hunchbacked creature with a brown, scaly coloured hide. It had extremely long and muscular arms, and had a long, spiked tail that was longer than it's legs, as if it wasn't already deadly enough!

On top of that, it had many spikes of varying sizes protruding out of it's back and tail mainly, with smaller ones extending out from its elbows. It's claws were razor-sharp, of course, perfect for cutting through flesh with little to no effort. But it's face was the most menacing part to Nate. It had large curved horns, and as such, resembled a devil. It had soulless yellow eyes full of anger, and in it's mouth were even sharper teeth that were completely covered in blood...fresh blood. The beast suddenly revealed a long snake like tongue from its mouth...and licked it's lips.

This was the thing that had killed that mutated cow so violently just outside of town...

* * *

 _Inside the Museum..._

" **OH SHIT!** What in the holy HELL?! No. **NO! NO** , it can't fucking be! How can this be happening ?!" Preston yelled in disbelief, and...fear.

"What is it, Pres ? I don't exactly wanna move away from here, until i know that all those Raiders are in the ground." Sturges asked, as he was busy guarding the door leading to the stairs.

"It's...it's a goddamn DEATHCLAW, Sturges!"

"A wh-a what !? N-No way, man! You can't be serious!?"

* * *

 _Back outside..._

"Fu-Fuck! What the fuck is...what is that ?! Wait. I think th-that's the beast that Mama Murphy warned me about! Fuck. She really _**was** _ right!" Nate asked himself, eyes wide with fear underneath his helmet, and his hands starting to shake even though Nate was forcing himself to keep a solid grip on his Mini-gun, as he couldn't afford to leave himself defenceless at this moment.

Suddenly, the Deathclaw roared out at them once more, and Gristle completely panicked.

The Deathclaw instantly pounced towards him and effortlessly stabbed one of it's large claws straight through his stomach, preventing any attempt at escape. It then lifted him high up in the air, and stood completely upright, standing atleast 10...maybe even 11ft tall!

The Deathclaw stabbed it's other hand directly into the same spot, and roared out again, loudly in the face of its victim, as it then violently ripped Gristle in half!

"By Jove!" Codsworth said, looking on in fear also.

Blood and guts had now painted the road ahead of them, and the Deathclaw savagely pulled Gristle's head off very violently with it's sharp teeth.

"Oh fuck. Fuck me! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Nate thought to himself, fearing for his life as he, in a state of panic, slowly began to back away. He and Codsworth somehow managed to put a small bit of distance between themselves and the beast.

However, the Deathclaw became alerted when it heard the metal stomps Nate's suit made, and it wanted another meal. Right now!

It tossed Gristle's remains aside, let out another roar, and charged towards Nate!

" **FUCK!** " Nate screamed as he squeezed the trigger as tight as he could, continuously taking a few steps backwards. His heart beating damn near a hundred times a second due to the situation he was now in.

After a few seconds of the barrel spinning up, the bullets finally started bombarding the beast, and Nate aimed mainly for the chest and stomach area.

But there was, of course, a problem. Although the rounds were indeed hitting their target, they didn't really have an immediate effect! But despite this, Nate was determined to fill as many rounds as possible into roughly the same spot of the Deathclaw's chest, and hope that it would eventually down the beast, as he saw that the beasts chest was actually bleeding!

The bullets had finally broken through the beasts tough hide! Nate could make out a couple of bullet holes that were spurting out small amounts of blood! But the Deathclaw still didn't show any signs of pain and didn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon, as it kept closing the gap!

"Codsworth! If it bleeds, we can kill it!" Nate shouted over to Codsworth.

As soon as Nate shouted this, Codsworth quickly got in-between his master and the pissed off, charging creature, and he immediately unleashed his flamethrower on it.

"Take that, you foul beast!" the robot butler yelled out.

The Deathclaw emerged from the flames completely unfazed though, resembling a devil as it swung it's arm and backhanded Codsworth aside, causing him to violently collide with a wall and collapse in a heap.

" **CODSWORTH!** " Nate screamed

" **YOU FUCKING UGLY FUCKING GIANT LIZARD BASTARD MONSTER FUCK-FACED ASSHOLE!** " Nate screamed as he started firing at the beast again. His sudden anger, combined with the adrenaline coursing through his veins now starting to overcome his fear.

The beast, in response reacted quicker than he'd anticipated. The beast got up very close and personal, and oddly, turned around, what Nate didn't see until the last second was the Deathclaw's large spiked tail come straight towards his face.

"Oh, fuck me!" Nate yelled as he raised his left arm up to protect his head and felt the full force of the strike, and he was sent flying off his feet into some sandbags nearby, dropping the Mini-gun as he was flung.

Not a second later the beast was hit with a laser blast to the side of it's neck. Earning it's attention...

The monster roared out and quickly charged over to the museums entrance and began trying to climb the exterior to reach Garvey. Nate picked himself up off the ground and saw the beast trying to climb up to Preston, as he fired another blast at the Deathclaw, this time striking its shoulder. Nate could hear Dogmeat barking from inside, so he moved as quickly as he could and ran over to retrieve his Mini-gun.

Preston fired into the Deathclaw's other shoulder and felt a brief sense of relief when Nate got back up and fired his Mini-gun into the back of the beast, taking its attention away from Preston and his group. Nate, however, swallowed hard as the creature turned to eye him again, and came back his direction. His bullets only seemed to bounce off of, or at the very least, had a hard time injuring the beast despite how much the beast was bleeding right now.

Nate had its attention again, which was good but also very bad! He backed up as fast as he could back down the street again while still firing everything he had into the beast.

The Deathclaw started charging at him on all fours now, dodging left and right, and as a result, it avoided a good amount of bullets as it closed the gap between them in mere seconds. It grabbed ahold of Nate's arms tight and squashed it's hands together around him, trapping Nate's arms down by his sides.

Nate tried to use all his strength to break free, but it was no use, it was far too strong for even Power Armor to break free from!

Garvey was still shooting the beast with well placed shots, but they were only doing a minimal amount of damage. Nate only had one idea left now, so acting quickly, he used his hands to lift his Mini-gun up and rest it against the beasts wrist area. Now the Mini-gun was pointed directly upwards, and after a few seconds of struggling to reach the trigger the weapon finally fired up into the Deathclaw's chest and into the lower area of its neck.

It roared out in extreme pain, as more blood spurted from it's flesh. It released Nate but just as quickly as it had, it quickly stamped it's large foot down on the ground, causing a mini-earthquake vibration effective enough to cause Nate to stumble backwards a little bit and almost lose balance!

"Jesus C _hrist! I'm in FUCKING POWER ARMOR! Yet this goddamned monster stomping its damn foot on the ground nearly knocked me the fuck over?!_ " Nate screamed to himself in his head.

But before Nate could make another attempt to fire at the Deathclaw, it quickly swiped it's clawed hand upwards and knocked the Mini-gun straight out of his grip like it didn't weight anything!

Nate started to really panic now! He's so desperate to survive this encounter and see Shaun again, that he does the only other thing he can think to do in this moment. He pulled his arm back and threw a power-armored punch at the beasts face, and he actually managed to successfully sock the monster across the jaw! The punch knocks the beasts head back, and even surprises it! But it doesn't have a lasting affect...

Even still, Nate tries to punch it a second time with his other fist, but the beast was still quicker! It picked him up and slammed him back down on the ground so fast he couldn't even process what'd just happened!

The Deathclaw pulled its other arm back up for another swipe, and when it's arm comes swinging around its claws collide directly with the right side of Nate's helmet, and with a great amount of force! The force of the hit knocked Nate down onto one knee, and Nate immediately realised that something was seriously wrong! He realised hat he could suddenly feel the breeze...he could feel fresh air against his face, and brush around his head!

He gasped in complete and utter shock and panic when he noticed his helmet, as well as his now separated right shoulder plate laying just a few feet away from him! In that moment, all his fear came rushing back in an instant!

Nate was in serious, real danger!

without pause or rest, the Deathclaw then went for an upward swipe! Only this time, it's claws strike vertically up his chest piece!

" **AAAAAAAARRRRGGHH!** "

* * *

" **SHIT, NOO! OH, HOLY FUCKING SHIT, MAN!** **NAAAATE!** " Preston shouted out from the balcony, still firing away at the Deathclaw, absolutely determined to help Nate stop it! But his laser musket's blasts barely dealt the beast below any real pain, especially from this distance...

Preston could only watch in complete horror, as their saviour was thrown around by the Deathclaw like a rag-doll, and he felt extremely panicked when he saw this monster slash Nate up the face! That could've been a killing blow!

He quickly ran back inside and opened up Nate's backpack. He rummaged through it looking for anything that may have been more powerful against the Deathclaw than his laser musket! Until he stopped momentarily, having found something that looked experimental and...powerful. "Hell, this'll have to do!" He decided quickly, as he pulled out the Cryolator!

"That is one weird looking weapon." Sturges said, observing over Preston's shoulder.

"Yup. But surely its gotta do _something_ against that damn beast! Look...Sturges...if i don't come make it, then you gotta promise me that you'll get the group outta this town. Got it ?" Preston asked aloud, as he turned to face Sturges.

"What ?! Preston, you can't go out there! That's a god damned Deathclaw, man! Not a damn Radroach! You just told me a few minutes ago that it was tossing our Power Armor wearing pal around, like he weighed nothin' at all! Going out there's a death sentence!" Sturges immediately argued.

"Sturges. Nate _saved_ us! And he is out there right now, trying to save us _again_! Codsworth might've been destroyed, and Nate could die any minute if i don't atleast go down there and help him out! I _**have** _ to help him! If i don't do anything and it kill Nate, then another good person will be dead on my watch, and then we'll be next! I won't let that happen, i'm sorry!" Preston yelled, before sprinting out of the room before Sturges could try and stop him.

" **PRESTON!** "

* * *

Nate felt a horrible stinging, burning sensation shoot up his face, the pain forcing his eyes shut, and causing him to instantly scream out in pain, the force of the strike almost sent Nate off his feet.

He uncontrollably tips backwards, and lands flat on his back with a loud thud! Nate can't help but to recoil in pain as he struggles to open his eyes again. He raises a hand to cover his face quickly, and quickly realises that his face feels extremely wet! He could feel a big open wound on his forehead, where his hand was! The stinging only got worse when he accidentally touched it.

"Arrgh! C'mon Nate, open your eyes! C'mon, Shaun can't lose his daddy without ever knowing about him! You can't let those assholes win!" Nate heard Nora's voice suddenly shout inside his head!

"Nora ?"

Hearing yet another roar coming from the beast, Nate managed to force open his right eye ever so slightly. He could see the large silhouette standing above him, and he tried to reach behind him, hoping to find any type of weapon to protect himself with. He _had_ to keep trying to end this beast, before it ended him!

"Agh! Where's my Mini-gun, goddammit ?!" Nate grunted in sheer desperation.

He rolled onto his side and looked down the street, and could only just make-out the sight of his Mini-gun. It was within arms reach!

Nate started crawling towards the weapon. But the Deathclaw wasn't done yet! It grabbed his leg and pulled him back towards it...but Lady Luck was on Nate's side today!

"Take this, you god damned overgrown lizard!" Nate heard Preston scream, before hearing the familiar whooshing sound the Cryolator made!

The Deathclaw yelped in frustration and turned around to look at whatever was interrupting it's preparation for dinner! When it turned and looked right at Preston, the Minuteman instantly fired the weapon directly at it's face, neck and shoulder area without hesitation!

Raising its arms up to instinctively cover its face, the Deathclaw quickly raised its leg up, and grabbed Preston's torso tightly within its large clawed foot, and the Cryolator was jolted out of Preston's grip.

The Deathclaw turned back around and slammed Preston hard down onto the road, already preparing to slowly crush his rib cage with the sheer strength of its foot alone.

Nate took this opportunity to turn back around and grab the grip of his Mini-gun. Nate's face was on fire, and he couldn't exactly open his left eye, it hurt like all hellfire, but he was trying his best to ignore all that pain so that both he and Preston could survive this encounter!

The Beast heard the movement eyed up the bleeding tin-man again!

Nate pulled the Mini-gun to him, lifted it up and rested the Mini-gun down on his chest. He aimed it up at the pissed off monster, and he fires everything left in the weapon directly into the Deathclaw's weakened neck and shoulders.

Finally! Finally, after a terrifying battle with this Deathclaw, it slowly loosens its grip on Preston, and lets out a exhausted whimper as it topples over to the side, finally dead. The lower section of its neck had been completely shredded open and torn apart.

Nate's finger was still clamped down on the trigger even though the Mini-gun had now ran out of ammo. The barrel was glowing orange from overheating, but it was over now!

When Nate realised that the beast is finally slain, he sighed a truly relieved breath and let his still spinning, still smoking Mini-gun fall to the side. He started to laugh, but stopped quickly when his face starts to sting again. Preston, freeing himself from the Deathclaw's clawed foot, pushes himself to his feet and coughs violently as he composed himself. He quickly moved to Nate's side, limping slightly and holding his side as he did.

"Shit Nate, hold on man, that looks really bad! Hold on, imma clean that up!" Preston said as he pulled a clean rag out of his jacket pocket, and grabbed a flask off of his waist belt. He poured water from his flask onto the rag and started to clean the blood from Nate's blood covered face.

Once Nate's face was clean of blood, Preston pulls out a Stimpak and injects it directly into Nate's wound, which made him wince slightly.

The Stimpak worked its magic though, and closed up the wound. Although it left Nate with a rather noticeable scar on his face - One that went from the centre of his forehead down diagonally to the left, ending just to the left of his nose.

"There, that- _ ***cough***_ , that looks better. You feeling alright, man ?" Preston asked with genuine concern.

Nate managed to open up his left eye now, and as he breathed out, he blinked a few times before he replied to him - "Yeah, i'm alright...considering. Stings like a bitch man, but on the plus side atleast i can still see, smell and speak, right ? I think i'll survive. Thank you for saving me, man. I owe you big time!"

That earned him a chuckle from his new friend.

"We both owe each other one, man. I'm just glad you're alive." Preston said.

"Hey, how about you man ? That giant lizard thing...whatever it was, it looked like it was gonna crush your rib-cage under its foot!" Nate asked him

"It would've man, but yeah i'm fine, thanks! I'm really lucky that it didn't break any ribs when it slammed me down _***cough* *cough***_. But when it did that, i think i must've landed on a rock, or just something pointy, because my back is in fucking agony right now...ugh, and on top of that I knocked both my elbows _and_ my head pretty damn hard too, but it's nothing serious, thankfully. We both got our asses handed to us, eh ?" Preston replied with another chuckle.

"Damn straight man, hah-hah! That's a relief though. Good thing you applied that Stimpak when you did too, or i think i'd of had to have become a pirate." Nate joked as he touched his new scar gently and slowly sat up.

Preston took a look at the chest piece of Nate's suit. There was a long claw mark going up the middle of the chest piece, accompanied by two smaller claw marks. One on each side of the larger claw mark. Luckily the Power Armor's chest piece was tough enough, so that all it ultimately was - was just a claw mark and nothing more.

"Thanks again for saving me, Preston." Nate said.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Preston said - "That's alright, man. Jesus though, Nate. When i saw that beast climb out of the hole, my blood ran cold. I've never even seen one of those before, let alone fight one! Y'know, i'd only heard stories. I didn't know how we could possibly hope to beat, or even escape one of those. Then when i saw it slash you and start to throw you around like a rag-doll...i-i thought i'd just sent an innocent man out there to meet a truly horrific death. And i couldn't...i _**wouldn't** _ let another good person die. That's why i came out here to help you." Preston stated.

"Look man don't blame yourself here, if it had killed me then it would've been my fault, you got that ? I chose to help out you and yours and _**i** _ chose to jump down here to go finish off those Raiders, okay. I'm damn lucky you came out here and helped me when you did though. Thank you again for that, Preston. Honestly. You're a good man!" Nate told the Minuteman as he stood up.

"You're welcome Nate. Heh-heh! You really are one tough bastard, you know that!" Preston said with a laugh.

"I've been told." Nate replied with a cocky grin which quickly faded when he remembered what the Deathclaw did that'd fuelled his anger.

Nate said his name in a lower tone. "Codsworth!"

Walking across the road and approaching the only friend he had left from before the bombs fell, Nate's fear rose again as he looked on at the Mister Handy that lay motionless on the ground.

He spoke his name again. "Codsworth ?"

Still no reply.

Preston started to suggest an idea to Nate. "Nate, lets get Codsworth up to Sturges. I'm sure he ca-"

The sound of a thruster switching on silenced Preston mid-sentence.

"Hello ? Helloo ?" Codsworth said

"Codsworth ?!" Nate asked, in amazement!

All three of Codsworth's eye stalks turned up to face the two men.

"Ah! There you ar- Oh no! Sir, why is everything upside down ? Am i malfunctioning?!" Codsworth asked in panic.

"No Codsworth, you're just upside down..." Nate muttered, holding back his laughter.

"Ah yes, that would explain it! Oh! Hello there Mister Garvey! Where did you come from ?" Codsworth asked in his normal cheery tone.

Nate smirked at Codsworth's comment. "Preston just saved my life Codsworth. I would've died without his help."

"Well then, Mister Garvey. As soon as i'm hovering next to you again, i would like to shake your hand!" Codsworth told him. He then manually switched off his thruster and used his Pincer and Flamer arms to push himself over and position himself upright. He re-activated his thruster but with slightly more power this time, and he sprang up back to normal, before extending his pincer arm out to Preston, who smiled and shook it.

"Please tell me. Is there much damage to my shell, Sir ?" Codsworth asked while trying to examine his dome with his own eyes.

"Honestly, apart from a dent and a few scratches i don't see anything to worry about, buddy." Nate told him

"Ah, splendid! Good to know i don't need a tune up anytime soon then!" Codsworth laughed as he looked at Nate. He suddenly went silent, and then his lens all zoomed in on his master's face and he asked "Sir...Whatever happened to your face ?! You have a scar that wasn't there before, as well as some dirt and quite a bit of blood!"

"After it knocked you out, that Monster threw me about and managed to rip open my face with its claws. But don't worry too much, a Stimpak fixed the worst of it. And apart from it still stinging pretty badly, i feel fine. Luckily for us, the monster's dead now." Nate replied

"Excellent! Such ferocity, it makes me dread what else may be lurking out there..." Codsworth said.

"Trust me Codsworth, you won't find anything worse than that." Preston told him, pointing back at the dead Deathclaw.

"Lets get back to your group, get them out of this town." Nate told Preston who nodded in response.

Nate picked up his Helmet and inspected it. There were two small claw marks next to the eye-slit on its right side. He placed it back on his head and he handed the Cryolator over to Codsworth, who held it with his pincer hand, and then Nate picked up his Mini-gun, and they all headed back to the Museum.

When the three of them reached the front doors, Preston stopped and knelt down beside the dead Minuteman laying at the bottom of the stairs.

Realising this dead man must've been a good friend of Preston's, Nate decided to try and comfort Preston. After all he knew how losing a friend felt...

"I'm sorry for your loss, Preston. I know what you're going through, i've been there myself. I'm...i'm here if you want to talk about it at all, okay ?"

Preston turned to Nate, and sounding slightly choked up, replied "His name was Jack, and he, uh...he was one of the kindest guys you could ever meet out here. It's just not fair, y'know ? He didn't deserve to die, especially not the way he did. He was a good man, and a close friend. He always helped out those who were in need, and was always there to cheer you up when you were feeling down..."

Nate put his big metal hand on Preston's shoulder.

"We'll find a nice peaceful place to bury him." Nate quietly assured him

Preston wiped tears from his eyes and nodded before standing up. Without another word he motioned for the two to follow him.

* * *

They walked through the doors and found Preston's group and Dogmeat already waiting for them with their bags strapped on.

"Ah! Our triumphant heroes return!" Mama Murphy called out, making the others aware to the presence of the victorious three.

Dogmeat ran over to Nate and jumped up, resting his paws on Nate's chest.

"Heya, Boy!" Nate said as he stroked Dogmeat's back.

"You okay Mama Murphy ?" Preston asked as he walked over to her.

"Oh, I'm fine, Preston. Quit fussin'." Mama Murphy told him, sounding as if she'd heard him ask that a million times already.

Preston turned to face Nate and said "Hey, so look man. Even though you got thrown around by that giant mutated beast that was...still a pretty damn amazing display. I'm glad you're on our side!"

"The feeling's mutual, Preston. You're a good man!" Nate told him with a smile.

Preston smiled back at him. "Same to you Nate. You can never have too many friends! Not in the Commonwealth." Preston replied.

Nate took off his helmet and asked "So are you guys going to be okay now ? Is everyone okay ?"

"Yeah. For a while, anyway. We're gonna get someplace safer now that Concord is finally clear." Preston answered honestly.

Nate nodded and then Preston spoke again, placing his rifle down on its butt and holding it by its wooden barrel again. "Listen. When we first met, you said you were glad to help us. Well, you did, and we all owe you our lives." Preston admitted as he fished his hand into his pocket and pulled out a handful of Fusion Cells and a bag of bottle caps, offering them to him. "So here. It ain't much, but...it's the best way i can say thank you."

Nate looked down at Preston's open hand for a few seconds and then shook his head.

"No, you keep that. I didn't do this for any reward."

Preston looked at Nate apologetically and said "Hey, sorry. I'm used to everyone being in it for themselves. You know, you remind me of my friends. The other Minutemen, the ones who gave their lives for something bigger than themselves." Preston told him with a smile.

"I wish i could've met them, they sound like great people. So, what happens now ?" Nate asked

"Well, for the longest time now, Mama Murphy's had a vision of this place called "Sanctuary". It's meant to be some old neighbourhood...but it's one that we can make new again." Preston answered.

Nate looked genuinely surprised hearing that, and smiled. "Really ? Funny that, because me and Codsworth actually came here from there. It's called Sanctuary Hills, and it's where our home is. It's only about a ten minute walk from here."

"Huh, well how about that! Well look, i wouldn't want to invade any privacy of yours, but we're really desperate for a new home. So, do me and my group have permission to move into Sanctuary with you ?" Preston asked

"Of course you do, Preston." Nate answered immediately.

"I know this must be the millionth time i've said this to you, but again, thank you Nate. So anyway tell me, what's it like in this 'Sanctuary Hills' ? Is it a good safe place for us to settle ? Is there any space for planting crops ? Is there a good water source ?" Preston asked

"Well, it's in a quiet, almost peaceful area, there's only been the occasional bother of a few giant roaches and giant flies every now and again, but i've not seen anything worse than that so far. With me and Codsworth here though, that means right now it's completely deserted. Honestly ? It would certainly take some work to get it back into a liveable state again, and it could certainly be safer. But apart from that it's probably perfect for you lot! It's perfect for planting crops, as there's lots of space for that, there's a stream going around the whole neighbourhood, so that's you fine for water too." Nate told him.

"Perfect! Is there any buildings there, if so, are they in a decent enough condition ?" Was Preston's next question.

"Well, there used to be fourteen intact houses, but over the years about five of those houses have collapsed in on themselves, whilst the rest are missing sections of their roofs, walls and flooring, as well as windows and doors. As well as all that, there's some toppled trees around the area which i couldn't move, and there's a mess of leaves and dirt everywhere. But other than that though, its honestly perfect." Nate told Preston, as he re-called what he had seen during his return to Sanctuary.

"That actually sounds really promising! I really think that we could finally be safe there, and hell, maybe even build a safe, thriving community!" Preston said, beaming with hope suddenly.

"I'd like to help you with that." Nate told him as Preston walked over to the corner Sturges was sitting in, and started talking with him, Codsworth going over with him.

"Oh, that's wonderful! But there's more to your destiny, isn't there ? I've seen it. And i know your pain." Mama Murphy said to Nate, speaking up again.

"My destiny ? My pain ? What in the hell are you talking about ?" Nate asked, slightly confused by the woman's ramblings.

"You're a man out of time. Almost completely, out of hope. But all's not lost. I can feel your son's...energy. He's alive!" Mama Murphy told him, whispering so as to keep the news between them. The words made Nate's eyes widen in shock and disbelief.

"How do you know i'm a man out of time. How do you know about...about my son. How do you know i even have a son ?!" Nate asked, not knowing whether to be happy or angry at the sentences she spoke.

"It's the Sight, kid. I told ya. I can feel his life force. I can't see him. Not clearly. But he's out there. I can tell you that." she replied.

"How ?! How do _'see people's life force'_ ? How do you know i have a son ? How does your 'Sight' tell you thi-Wait. Were you with the people that took him...Huh ?!" Nate asked, his mind was racing with questions.

"Kid, look i told ya about that angry, horrible beast from below before it showed it's face, didn't i ?" Mama Murphy reminded him.

Nate thought for a moment. _"Fuck. So she did."_

"You did, yes. Hmm...Okay...okay. So you know about my son, and that i'm new to this...'time' if you will. And you did warn me about that terrifying beast...Okay, i've got one more question then. What's my son's name ?" Nate asked, cause he figured anyone could've had a lucky guess about him being a father.

"Your son's name is Shaun." Mama Murphy told him as soon as he asked.

Again, Nate's eyes widened, this time in shock and...hope. "Holy shit! Y-You got that right! You're not just some crazy old lady after all." Nate said with a brief grin.

Mama Murphy briefly laughed, and so Nate pleaded with her. "Please, tell me where he is. I _**need** _ to find my son!"

"I don't need the Sight to tell you where you should start lookin'. The great, green jewel of the Commonwealth. Diamond City. The biggest settlement around!"

"Where is Diamond City ? And is my son there ?" Nate asked

"Never been there myself. But i'm told it used to be some fancy baseball park. Look, kid. I'm tired now, and i can't tell you if your son is there right now, if at all. Maybe if you bring me some Chems later the sight will paint a clearer picture." Mama Murphy answered, as if telling him he'd have to drug her up to find his son.

"No! Mama Murphy, we've talked about this! That junk...it's gonna kill you..." Preston interjected, walking over to the two.

"Oh shush, Preston. We're all gonna die eventually. We're gonna need the Sight. And our new friend here, he's gonna need it too. Now, i think it's time we get goin', Sanctuary awaits." she answered in response.

"Yeah, i'll atleast agree with you on that...Alright folks. Thanks to Nate and Codsworth here, it's safe to move out. We're heading out for this place called Sanctuary Hills, it's where our new friend here lives, and he's kindly agreed to let us move in with him. It's about a ten minute walk from here."

The younger woman, Marcy Long, spoke up. "What if this place is a complete hole, or what if this guy's in the pocket of some other Raiders and is leading us into some trap, so some other Raiders can try to kill us, or worse ?! There's a hundred reasons we could be walking into a trap, or that it's just as bad as any other place we've passed through!"

"Nate helped us, he isn't a bad guy. And apparently the place isn't exactly perfect, but we'll just have to make it perfect ourselves. It's in a quiet area according to Nate, away from prying eyes, and that's good enough for me!" Preston spoke back, sounding agitated and tired when he spoke.

"Yeah, just cause he helped us against some Raiders doesn't mean i trust him." Marcy barked back

"Marcy. It can hardly turn out any worse than-"

"Hold on, hold on. Everybody just take it easy. We're all in this together, right ? So Marcy. You got a better idea of what we should do next ?" Sturges asked, trying to calm the situation boiling up.

Marcy remained quiet.

"Anybody ?" Sturges asked, looking at Preston and Mama Murphy.

No response came from anybody.

"Well then. Sanctuary it is. Let's just hope it lives up to its name." Sturges said, desperately, personally hoping this was the place they could finally call home.

So now everyone stood up.

"Come on, Jun. It's time to go." Marcy said, helping her emotionally broken husband to his feet.

"Oh, okay." Jun replied quietly, taking her hand in his.

"I think once we're all settled into Sanctuary some of us should come back here and grab all these weapons and all this ammo, and maybe even look for some new clothes, some medicine, and any food and drink as well. And certainly that Mini-gun." Sturges suggested.

"I agree. I'll help you with retrieval. But only once you're all safe and settled in Sanctuary." Nate responded.

Getting out of his Power Armor temporarily, Nate inserted that holotape from upstairs into his Pip-Boy to listen to, curious to find out what history it held inside it, before he hopped back inside his suit.

The group finally left the old Museum and they now stood out in the open. Everyone took in the sight of the twenty or so dead Raiders covering the street. Marcy stopped in her tracks momentarily upon noticing the Deathclaw's giant corpse.

"You okay, Marcy ? You seem-Oh, i see. Don't worry, It's definitely dead. Nate made sure of that." Preston told her, with a smile.

"It's just i've never seen one up this close before, okay!" Marcy snapped back.

"You...you actually killed that thing ?" Marcy asked, turning to speak to Nate, actually acknowledging him for the first time now.

"I did, yes. But i didn't do it alone. Without Preston's help, i'd be dead." Nate replied as he knelt down next to Jack's body. Marcy's expression briefly lightened before reverting to it's usual one.

Nate picked up Jack's body, so that it could be buried in Sanctuary, which earned him a grateful smile from Preston and a nod from Sturges.

There was a black cloud forming above Concord now though, and it began to rain lightly.

Preston looked up at the cloud and sighed, then spoke up. "Just what we need. Okay, folks. Don't forget the price we paid to get this far. Let's move out, i'll take point. Stick close, everyone." Preston told his small group, determined to get them to their new home.

"We're right behind ya boss." Sturges responded, supporting his friend and ready to help him out at any point.

After a few minutes of static the holotape starts to play.

 _"Personal log. United States Army Staff Sergeant Michael Daly. This past Saturday, October 23rd while en route to West Stockbridge, our Veritbird crashed into the roof of this museum. The cause: EMP following nuclear detonation. Several, in fact. From the intel I've gathered, this was a global event. The co-pilot was killed on impact. Pilot died of his injuries a day later. Day after that, Flaherty and Kanawa were shot by some scared, desperate, survivors. Then Proznanski took off running. Haven't seen him since. Now it's my turn to go AWOL, if that concept even applies anymore. My armor's fusion core is burned out, so I guess my soldiering days are done. I'm heading to Boston, on foot, to see if my sister survived all this. She's got an apartment on Boylston Street. This is Mike Daly, signing out. Good luck. And God bless America. Or what's left of it..."_

* * *

 ** _Hey guys, so i hope you enjoyed this chapter. So to explain why i did the fight the way i did, i just didn't want Nate to have too easy a time, or to come out of his first fight against a DEATHCLAW with no bruises or cuts, like c'mon lets be real here. Plus his Power Armor is pretty old and rusty at this point so it would take some heavy damage._**

 ** _Anyways, if you liked this chapter be sure to drop a wee review for me :)_**

 ** _'Till next time._**


	8. Chapter 8: JSS

Hey all, hope you didn't mind the wait, took me a long time to get this chapter to feel right. As a result it's a damn long chapter.

Also i've decided on something in the time between the last chapter and this one. I plan on incorporating some Lore-friendly Mods, as well as a ton of concept art into this story. For example, Diamond City and Boston as a whole were gonna be much larger. So expect a different feel to that of the base game.

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

After leaving Concord behind the group were walking up the hill leading to the Red Rocket station. With each step, the rain gradually got heavier. Though thankfully not to the point where it was pouring it down. But along with it came large, black rain clouds, as the minutes passed by.

Sturges began to rub his arms, and felt a shiver down his spine, due to the breeze and sudden change in weather. Preston noticed, and assured his friend that they'd get a fire started the second they got to Sanctuary.

"Um...Whe-Where are we going, Marcy ? I don't like us be-being out in the open like this..." Jun curiously asked, speaking up and falling slightly behind the group, his eyes darting around, observing every corner of their environment. Honestly, he felt very paranoid about their surroundings.

"A place _apparently_ pretty close by. Don't worry, Jun. Just stay with me, we'll be fine." Marcy assured him with a calmer tone, taking her Husband's hand in hers and flashing him a reassuring smile.

"Oh, o-okay." He replies, looking back down at the ground again as he followed.

Sturges looked behind himself, up at Nate. "Hey, best hold onto that Power Armor now, i know it took a battering back there. But it's not every day you just come across a full suit of it, y'know. I get that it's aged, and scraped up and even broken in places, but with the right tools and the right care, believe me i can fix that beauty up right as rain. Besides, i'd hate to see it go to rust."

Sturges could feel Nate just stare blankly at him through his helmet. He blinked a few times and then corrected himself. "More than it already is, is what i meant."

Hearing the words Sturges said made Nate recollect a few memories of his time in Anchorage. Times where when he wasn't on the battlefield fighting Reds, he would spend his time maintaining his own suit of T-51b Power Armor to the best of his ability.

...

The soldiers in Anchorage who were trusted, and deemed worthy enough in the eyes of their superiors, were granted access to one of the suits of Power Armor. They were ordered by their superiors to maintain their suits of Power Armor to the absolute best of their ability...to maintain them to the highest degree possible. Each soldier granted with their own suit without having prior experience with one understandably had to go through Power Armor training, so as to not get themselves killed on the field the first time they used it in battle, and to guarantee they.

The training was a tad complicated to start out with, but by the end of it operating a suit was simple enough. Along with access to one of the suits came the choice of a higher powered, and heavier weapon for combat. All individually proving to be miles more efficient than the standard load-out. Though they could only choose one. The options were: an Anti-Material Rifle, a Heavy Machine Gun, a Gauss Rifle, one of the larger variants of Mini-Guns available, a Flame-Thrower or a Fat-Man, though there were only four of the latter available at the time.

...

"Hey!"

Coming back to reality, Nate heard Sturges' voice asking "What d'you say, boss ? Sound like a plan ?"

"I appreciate the offer Sturges, but i can handle it myself." Nate shrugged and tilted his head to one side. "-I probably should've mentioned it before, but i've fixed up a few suits of Power Armor in my time. Trust me, i know how valuable a suit of Power Armor is. Especially when there's any type of threat or danger close by. These suits have saved my bacon so many times in the past. More times than i can count, actually. I've got a lot of experience with suits of Power Armor, whether it was fighting in them or fixing them up. So yeah, i can handle it myself." Nate said, informing the handyman of his capabilities.

Sturges' eyebrows raised in surprise, and his mouth curled into a happy smile.

"Well ain't that something! Hey, i'm glad to meet another person who knows how to properly care for Power Armor. But ya know if you let me help you fix the suit then we could get her fixed up twice as fast, and then some. Hell, we could even give it a fresh paintjob too...if we can find any paint, that is." Sturges suggested, as they continued to walk and talk.

"Sounds like a plan." Nate told him, supporting his suggestion.

Sturges nodded appreciatively at Nate, then caught up with Preston, who was already scouting ahead for any possible threats.

Being at the front of the group, Preston and Sturges were the first to notice the Red Rocket as it came into view.

"Huh. Well look at that, I think i may just have found my new vacation home." Sturges announced aloud with a grin, as they stopped to observe the gas station.

"Your idea of Heaven, eh, Sturges ?" Preston asked his buddy, as he chuckled to himself lightly. Stopping with him to take a glance at the gas station.

"Yup. A few chairs, a way up to the roof and some cold beers. That'd be me set!" Sturges said as he pictured the scene in his head.

"Hmm, you know what. There could be something worth salvaging in there, now that i think about it." Preston recommended to Sturges, as the others now started passing by the two.

Without stopping, or even looking in their direction Nate just casually said "Already been through there. Only stuff there worth taking is some heavy ass workbenches and some vending machines."

As Nate kept walking up the road, both men just looked at each other. "Bu-Oh come on, man! You just took all the fun out of it now. I wanted to search the place and maybe be surprised by something." Sturges moaned, clearly upset at the spoiler.

Slowing his pace, Nate turned to see how Codsworth was doing. Because he'd been oddly silent thus far.

"Hey. Are you doing okay, Codsworth ? You're awful quiet."

An Eye-stalk turned to look at his master and Codsworth replied with a dissatisfied tone of voice. "Why yes, of course i am, Sir! Just wishing we could get out of this infernal rain is all."

The comment amused Nate. It was a surprising and comedic change from his normal cheerful tone, being that Codsworth always had a tone that liked to exclaim everything he said.

"Don't worry buddy, we'll be out of the rain soon. Sanctuary isn't far." Nate said, to see it that would lift his spirits.

A few steps later, the old Minutemen Monument beside the rickety old bridge came into view, and Preston's eyes instantly lit up like the 4th of July when he recognised this statue in front of him, knowing it was more than just your ordinary statue.

"Well, i'll be damned! That's the monument to the Original Minutemen! Oh man! I mean, i knew that this was somewhere around Concord but actually seeing it in person!" He commented, expressing his utter surprise and happiness at the sight, showing off his history knowledge in the process.

"That means...that this right here must be the Old North Bridge!," Preston spoke as he suddenly realized, turning to look at the devastated and broken old bridge, his eyes wide with surprise and his mouth hanging open slightly.

"-Where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired! You know what ? I call this the best omen since we left Quincy." He declared to the group.

Sturges just chuckled away to himself. "Yeeeeah, i don't know what in the hell you're talking about, boss. But i'm just glad you're happy about it."

Nate felt he should introduce the group to their new home, being that he technically owned the entire neighbourhood, as he was the last resident alive from before the Bombs fell...

"So here we are, ladies and gentlemen. This, is Sanctuary Hills. It's not in the greatest shape right now, but with some hard work, that can change."

The group stood in front of the Old North Bridge and took in the sight of their new home before them.

"Is, uh. Is that bridge safe to cross ? Looks like it could give way if it's got too much weight on it." Sturges asked, making sure to stop anyone else from taking another step, just incase.

"Well i made it across fine on my way out of Sanctuary, so it should be safe. But maybe spread out when you all cross, i don't think it can handle more than one person walking over the same spot." Nate told him honestly, only to then realise something.

"Could, uh. Could one of you take Jack's body please ? I'm gonna go down and cross the stream. My Power Armor alone would more than likely snap the bridge in two..."

"Yeah good point. Alright, i'll take Jack then." Sturges offered, holding out his arms to take Jack.

Nate gently gave Sturges Jack's corpse, and then made his way down into the stream, he got a pleasant surprise when Dogmeat pounced on top of his suit excitedly to follow him across, which just made Nate chuckle some more. Though his grin faded quickly when the memories of taking Alfie for a walk around here resurfaced in his mind.

Once he and Dogmeat re-joined the group on the other side, they all began following Nate in walking up the fractured and earth covered road.

As they walked, Nate informed the group that in each of the still intact houses they'd could find showers, toilets, baths, as well as a few beds. Hell, Maybe even a few more weapons, with spare ammo and food if they were lucky. But thinking about it in his head, Nate wasn't sure if the showers and sinks would have any hot water, or any water at all for that matter, the toilets might not flush either...

Nate stopped when he was stood outside his home, and the group stopped with him. The others took some glances over at Nate's home and over at the Washington Residence.

When he turned to face them all he noticed that they were all looking at him, like they were waiting for him to speak again. So he cleared his throat and removed his Helmet, placing it on top of his slightly bent mailbox.

"Okay you guys, so as you can see by the state of this place, Sanctuary isn't the cleanest place right now, but it's...still home, you know. It was just me and Codsworth before we found all of yous."

Nate pointed his thumb behind him, and let the group know something. "So, uh. This house behind me, that one's my personal home, i'm more than happy to let you all relax in there throughout the day, but if it's not too much trouble i'd like to ask you all to not enter it at night, or in the mornings. But please know that yous are more than welcome to take any other house, or if you each want your own, then take the house **s** , that you like."

"That's more than fair in my eyes, you've lived here for a long time and you like to have your own space and privacy, we get that. Hell, you welcomed us into your home and you're even giving us somewhere to live. I understand your reasons and i respect them completely, and i'm sure the rest of us do too." Preston answered, as he looked over his group to make sure they shared the same thoughts.

"Yeah of course, we respect that. Thanks again, man." Sturges said, whilst the other three gave Nate some other form of thanks.

Nate nodded and gave a small smile before he spoke again. "Now if you'll excuse me for a few minutes, i'm just gonna dump my bag inside my house and sort out my things."

Turning to walk into his house, Nate suddenly stopped himself and turned back to the group.

"Oh! Wait, hold on. Yeah...Sorry guys. I forgot to mention something pretty important. There's four root cellars here in Sanctuary, they might not be that big but they'll provide shelter from the rain until we can restore the roofs and walls of the houses. I've got no idea what's inside the other three, can't wait to find out personally. And yeah, incase i didn't just give it away, the fourth cellar is behind my house. But, unfortunately the lock on mine is broken...and has been for a pretty long time. I never got around to trying to fix it either. But the other three should open up no problem. We just need to find the keys for them. We should search the houses for the keys. Because it beats sitting around in these damp, broken old houses." Nate explained to them.

Nate paused briefly to take a breath, before resuming what he was saying.

"Like i mentioned. I think it'd be in our best interest to use the wreckages of the already collapsed houses to fix up the gaps in the roofs, and to replace the missing pieces of wall in each of the houses that are still currently standing. The wrecks might only have mostly bend out of shape steel, some rusted roof tiles and maybe some more mattresses, but we'll have to make do, unless we find any better options."

Nate thought to himself that they might start asking some questions sooner or later, and he figured that he'd have to come clean to these folks pretty soon.

"So, i'd suggest that we should all take an hour to get settled in and relax. Then i think it'd be good to get started on making Sanctuary liveable again. Half of us could work on getting those cellars open, while the others work on getting parts for fixing up the holes. That sound alright to yous ?"

Preston spoke up and countered Nate's suggestion by giving his own, "Man, i agree that we should get around to all of that soon, but my suggestion would be that a group of us. Namely you, me, Sturges and Codsworth, all head back to Concord and scavenge _everything_ we can from there. Because i'll be honest we _need_ to be able to defend and care for ourselves, y'know. We need more ammo soon or we'll run empty very soon.

On top of that, any food and drink we can find, any more Stimpak, RadAway or Rad-X would be great. Any clothes, preferably not stained with blood or any other disgusting surprises too, if at all possible. Hell, even a few Caps wouldn't go amiss. Lastly, we'd need some tools and parts to fix up that Power Armor you're in right now, incase there's not enough here. Because we need to face the truth, that, if any Raiders show up here, then they'd catch us at our most vulnerable. I don't mean to throw us into anymore danger, truly. But we _need_ more supplies if we're gonna last more than a week or two here."

"What the hell are 'Caps' ?" Nate thought to himself before he brushed it off.

Nate slowly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that actually sounds like a much better plan to see to first."

"Okay, we'll head out in the next half an hour. Now, if you'll excuse me, i'd like to go dig a grave for Jack first." Preston said as he walked over to the Washington house driveway and grabbed a spade laying next to the front door.

Preston and Sturges dropped their backpacks there and walked off behind the yellow house next to Nate's to go dig the grave. Nate walked into his house accompanied by Codsworth and Dogmeat, whilst the others entered the Washington's home and emptied out all of their backpacks.

 _About 20 minutes later..._

Preston and Sturges reappeared from behind the house, having buried Jack in the back yard. Now the group was ready to head out, satisfied that the others had enough weapons and ammo to defend themselves while the small scavenger group was in Concord.

Dogmeat sat in front of Nate and the others, begging them to let him tag along. And, although reluctantly, the group ultimately decided to let him join them.

* * *

 **Concord.**

The group had no issues on the journey back to Concord and none currently, which was a relief. The group managed to retrieve all the weapons of every dead raider, both inside and out of the museum. On top of that they also looted six more Stimpak and about two bags of Radaway. Then they found a good amount of non blood stained clothes from the Fallon's Department Store and about 50 Caps altogether from the dead Raiders. But the prize of their scavenge was The Mini-Gun and it's two spare drums of ammo on the roof.

God knows it'll come in handy.

But Nate had something else on his mind now. That girl that he'd spared before, that the other Raiders found..."Hell was her name ? Katy ? Kity ? Kitee ? Something like that." Thing is, she wasn't among the dead. She must have escaped...This could be bad.

His attention was quickly shifted away from that thought when Preston spoke out and let the group in on an ingenious idea he'd just had. Preston suggested that the group drag the entire corpse of the Deathclaw itself back to Sanctuary, as the group were all in need of a big meal, being that they hadn't eaten in a long time. Nate was reluctant to at first, worried that it might make them all sick, plus the weight of the creature alone could cost them more time apart from the others, and leave them open to attack.

But he eventually gave in when Preston mentioned that the group hadn't eaten in days, and that Nate had his armor for the weight, and both Codsworth and Dogmeat to keep an eye out. Besides, it couldn't taste that bad, right ?

Preston further convinced Nate that on top of it being a good source of food, that they could also use the beast's hide to craft some armor. Use the beasts hard, pointy, rock-solid tail as a form of defence too. They could possibly turn it into a couple of knifes or even one big sword, or simply a decoration if all else failed. Lastly, Preston recommended that Nate could cut off it's head and mount it on his wall as a prize of sorts, and Nate simply couldn't argue with that idea. He had to admit, all of Preston's suggestion sounded like they'd greatly benefit them.

As an added bonus to the group's day, the rain clouds even cleared up.

The group were getting ready to leave Concord once more, but they were still missing one important thing. The shoulder piece of the Power Armor.

Five minutes of searching later and Preston sighed a relieved breath when he found the detached shoulder piece, lying next to a rusted old Pick-up truck, hidden under a large pile of trash.

"Hey fellas, look what i found." Preston grinned as he waved the piece in front of them.

So now, satisfied with their loot, the group walked over to the dead Deathclaw and Nate grabbed the beast by it's belly. With Preston and Sturges each positioning themselves in front of Nate, and behind him. Hauling the beast up, they started headed back towards Sanctuary.

The Deathclaw was insanely heavy, as they'd expected. But Nate's Power Armor helped immensely.

"This is a good day for us. All of this loot we've gathered should guarantee our safety and survival for another few weeks back in Sanctuary." Preston said, assuring them that they'd done a great thing. He grunted and said. "And, Ugh! Hell, even when we do eventually run out of food we _should_ still be fine for some time after that!" He said, putting extra emphasis on 'should', "Especially given the amount of Radstag i've seen roaming around this area recently."

"Man, I can't wait to lay down on a bed later on! My legs are practically killin' me!" Sturges grunted out as they walked up the hill.

"Atleast it's not raining." Preston casually responded

"Preston, that's like the fiftieth time i've heard you say that man. Stop it!" Sturges yelled at him, shaking his head with a grin on his face that quickly faded away again.

* * *

Upon their return the group were pleased to learn from Mama Murphy that her and Marcy had found the keys to the three cellars in were told that there was enough beds for all of them to sleep in, within all the cellars combined. Beds that were sheltered and not soaked and scorched.

Jun meanwhile remained in the Washington residence, and Marcy was by his side, making sure he wasn't alone.

When Mama Murphy noticed the group return she called Jun and Marcy out to welcome them back. When they both saw the body of the Deathclaw being hauled up the road Jun screamed instantly and ran back inside the house, and Marcy nearly had a heart attack. She'd calmed down soon enough, while Jun had to be assured by everyone that the beast was in fact dead.

Codsworth then happily addressed the entire group.

"Well everyone! Assuming that nobody else will be making anymore trips outside of Sanctuary for the remainder of the day and that you all have a dry place to sleep, how about some well deserved rest and relaxation ? I'm sure you all must be starving! Now, could i kindly request that this beasts body be moved into Master Johnson's back yard please. Once that's seen to, I shall gladly prepare dinner for you all!"

The smiles appearing on everyone's faces at the announcement filled Codsworth's nuclear core with such joy.

"One more question, ladies and gentlemen. How would everybody like their meat done, might i inquire ?" Codsworth asked the hungry humans around him.

* * *

After moving the Deathclaw into the back yard, Codsworth got straight to work. To everyone's surprise, Nate's kitchen was still fully functional. Only having some minor damage and rust.

Another happy surprise came when Sturges and Nate discovered that underneath each of the sheets were three different types of workbenches _and_ another engine hoist hidden away. A Tier 1 Weapons bench, a Workshop bench like the one in the Red Rocket garage, and a Armor bench lower down in the ground next to the driveway. The yellow workbench was next to the Armor bench, on the wall around it were three tool racks and a tool cabinet on the wall, amongst other goodies.

"Oh man! _This_ is the real deal right here. I might just faint." Sturges admitted, acting just like a kid in a candy store.

Nate too gazed and looked over it all for a bit before he called over to Sturges.

"Yeah, pal ?"

Holding up the sheets Nate said to him. "We can probably use these as bed duvets. Beats the alternative of ones that are either scorched all over or damp as hell, am i right ?"

"Heheh. Hell yeah you are. Christ, we'll take anything we can get our hands on right now to be frank. Good call man." Sturges complimented him.

Nate decided it was time to finally get back outta the suit. "Right then, i'd say it's time for me to hop outta this suit and see about fixing it up."

He stashed the suit directly underneath the hanging chains that were attached to the top of the yellow engine hoist.

Raising his left arm up to his chest, Nate flipped open the well hidden section placed above the wrist area of the arm piece, underneath the cover was nine buttons. Nate knew the Military's release code of course, so he typed it in and voila! The back of the suit opened up for him, and the hidden section on the arm closed itself up, the same time as the back of the suit did.

Sturges attached one of the chains through the appropriately sized hole in the shoulder piece that was still attached to the frame. Now he grabbed the welder from the old and rusted weapons bench and started setting it up.

"Sturges, man, i can take care of it, honestly. You go relax." Nate kindly demanded, noticing Sturges actions.

"Nah, i live for this type of stuff anyway. You go relax, get to know everyone better too if ya want." Nate was about to argue over who repaired the armor but then he just smirked and gave in.

"Alright fine, you win. But don't work yourself to death, you hear ?"

Sturges just smiled and chuckled in response. He got straight to work and placed the shoulder piece onto the frame section, and held it in place with one hand. He pulled down his welding mask with the other and began to weld the piece back on.

* * *

Everyone could finally relax now, they could all take a well deserved breather.

Nate decided to return to his home, because he felt it was time to retrieve the items Codsworth had mentioned stashing away in the island safe just before the nuke hit.

"Hey Codsworth, buddy! Could you tell me where you put the key to the island safe please ?" Nate asked as he walked into his home. Codsworth was working away, of course. He was preparing a 'small' portion of the Deathclaw he'd cut off, but even though it was a small portion he'd removed, it was still more than enough to feed the entire group tonight just by the shear size of the piece.

"Of course Sir! I stored the key within one of my many storage compartments for safe keeping until the day of your return. Here you go Sir!" Codsworth answered, rotating his pincer arm around, as the compartment opened up and Codsworth plucked the key from inside, handing it over to his master.

"Thank you Codsworth."

"You're most welcome, Sir!"

Nate turned and kneeled down, inserting the key and opening up the Island's safe door. It was a well concealed door, no one could deny that.

* * *

He found so much inside. Objects that were very close to his heart. Family memoirs. They were rather dusty of course, but were in perfect condition.

The first items Nate pulled out, were Nora's Law Diploma, along with her Graduation hat. He remembered her telling him how she sacrificed many nights for this but that it was worth it. God, he was so proud of her when he found out.

The next thing he pulled out of the safe was his Father's Golden Watch, which was a gift that was passed down through each generation of Johnson's. Nate was...gonna give this to Shaun when he was old enough.

As he continued to empty the safe he found more things, like the Miniature American flag his mother had given him when he came home from the War. Even random things like his and Nora's toothbrushes for some odd reason. Codsworth sure did grab everything he saw as necessary. But it did make Nate chuckle. And this one was a genuine chuckle, not a forced one, like some smiles and chuckles had been so far.

Then Nate found Nora's cooking books, except that wasn't a surprise really because he remembered that she'd stored them in here way before the bombs fell anyway. But it was still nice to find them.

Then he found both of their personal collections, _and_ the **really** old stuff. There was Nora's paintbrush collection. His old D.B. Technical Jacket, and his old holotape player. And strangely, his alcohol collection. Now _That_ might've been a bad decision on Codsworth's part...god knows the drink could help dull the emotional pain right now.

And then that's when he found it. Her most treasured item. Sitting right at the back corner of the safe.

Nora's necklace...

There wasn't one day that had went by where she didn't wear this necklace. She must've forgotten to put it on that morning.

A sad smile formed as Nate held the necklace close to his chest and had to fight back tears. No tears escaped this time, however he still had that shit empty feeling inside. This was gonna take time to deal with. This World was gonna take even more time to adjust to and deal with. So, for the time being he put the items all back and locked the safe again.

* * *

An hour and a half later, dinner was ready and Nate had invited everyone into his home. He got to know everyone much better except for Jun and Marcy. They were both silent and just preferred to eat their meal and not say a word, both of them seemed to have different moods though. Nate wasn't going to force them to speak, he just wanted them to know they were welcome here.

The Beast's meat was...actually pretty damn delicious! A bit chewy but otherwise really good. Everyone seemed to agree. Codsworth even kindly provided everyone with Purified Water. His ability to produce clean water from just moisture absolutely amazed both Preston and Sturges greatly, as neither knew that Mister Handy's could even do that. Sturges had only stripped destroyed robots for parts, he never had the opportunity to study even their basic functions.

Later on that same hour Nate found a few bottles of Gwinnett Stout hidden in the bottom shelf of his fridge. Given the last few months these people had gone through, and given the last few hours Nate had experienced, everyone was entitled to one of these.

When they'd all finished their meal Preston stood up and addressed everyone at the table.

"First of all, Codsworth. That meal was delicious, thank you. Now, if you all don't mind. I'd like to make a toast. To Nate, to Codsworth and to Dogmeat too. Without you three turning up when you did we wouldn't be here right now. You've welcomed us into your home, you've given us a safe enough place to live. You've been nothing but kind to us and i can't wait to see what the future holds for us here. So from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you, thank you so much. To Nate, Codsworth and Dogmeat."

Having finished his toast to the three heroes, Preston raised his bottle to them. The other four repeated Preston's final words after him "To Nate, Codsworth and Dogmeat.", and they all joined him in raising their bottles, and though somewhat reluctant, Marcy joined in too.

Preston looked over the group in silence and gave a brief pause before he continued.

"But unfortunately, not everyone could make it here with us. So, i'd like to raise a glass to all the friends and family who we've lost between in these last few months. To those...brilliant people, who we us knew all of our lives. Losing them has certainly hit us hard and made going on without them tougher with each passing hour, with each passing day. I know we're all still in mourning, and that we're all dealing with the loss in different ways. But what we need to remember is that we still have each other."

Hearing Preston say this to his group made Nate think about everyone he knew before the bombs...everyone that was gone now. His neighbours. His closest friends. His parents. But mainly Nora...

"-What we still have is friends. Friends, to help us through our time of mourning."

Hearing that sentence, Nate acknowledged the fact that he had this new group of people. His new friends in this world to help him adjust to losing everything he knew. But most of all it reminded him that he still had Codsworth, and somewhere out there. Shaun.

"-They may not be sitting here with us now. But they'll always be with us, in here-" He said, pointing to his heart.

A part of Nate wanted to excuse himself to go and deal with all the thoughts running through his head. He felt like he may brake down again soon. But he swallowed the feeling and just kept listening.

"-What we have to remember is this. They're still a part of us, and they _always_ will be. They'll live on in our memories, forever. I know it'll take a while before we can fully come to terms with the loss. But the best way we can honour their memory, is by going on, by living on. So, here's to all the friends and family we lost."

Now that Preston had finished this speech aswell Nate thought about his words. He had hung onto every word Preston had said. And he was right, it would take time to come to terms with losing Nora. Nate knew he certainly couldn't just up and accept what'd happened to Nora and move on any time soon. Hell, it hadn't even been a full day for him yet since she was killed. He was still scarred and horrified by it. He was always strange when it came to dealing with his emotions. He could still joke, and laugh, and smile when he was really hurting inside. He always bottled it up and dealt with it himself. He always faked smiles, or faked being fine when he was being torn apart inside. He just didn't know how to deal with it sometimes.

But what he did know is that Nora would want him to go on. To live on. And even if he wouldn't admit it. It truly helped him to hear those words.

Mama Murphy and Sturges joined Preston in raising their bottles, and Nate, pulled from his thoughts, joined them in raising his bottle.

But not everyone could hear Preston's words the way Nate had. Because when everyone raised their bottles, Marcy just stood up without a word and charged out the door, seemingly in a rage. Obviously the words had been too much for her to hear right now.

"M-Marcy ? I-I should go after her." Jun said in a quiet voice, running after Marcy.

Preston watched them both leaving the house, and the look went instantly from a comforting smile to that of regret and shock. The look on his face told the others exactly how he felt. He knew he'd crossed a line. He felt sad. He felt...defeated.

He slowly sat back down in his seat in a slumped position and after a few moments of hesitation he raised his hand and covered his mouth. He went over his words again and again in his head, and he felt kind of empty inside all of a sudden.

"Your heart was in the right place, Preston. They'll both come around eventually, that's another thing i don't need the Sight to be able to see. Don't beat yourself up about it." Mama Murphy said placing her hand on his shoulder.

"I should've just kept my mouth shut, Mama. I've upset both of them." Preston muttered in response and he raised his other hand and cupped his cheeks.

"C'mon buddy, you couldn't have known how we'd all react. Just give 'em time bud." Sturges added in, proving that he was here for Preston no matter what.

Preston ran his hands down his face and then pulled them away and looked up at his friends. "I need to apologise to them both later. But thank you anyway, both of you."

"No problem, sweetheart. Now i'm gonna go get some sleep. So i'll see you all tomorrow sometime." Mama Murphy said, bidding the three men goodnight.

Sturges decided to go work on the Power Armor some more. Tinkering with old junk, and gold mines like a suit of Power Armor was the mans life.

So now it was just Nate and Preston at the table. Codsworth was removing some vines from the corners of Nate's house, and Dogmeat was asleep on the couch.

Preston had wanted to talk with Nate about a whole bundle of things though.

* * *

"Hey, i just wanted to say thank you again for everything you've done for us Nate. I truly do wish there were more people out there like you. I don't know what we did to deserve you." Preston said, starting up a fresh conversation.

"Not a problem Preston, i'm glad you and everyone else enjoyed the meal. And myself for that matter! I never thought i'd be dining on giant mutant lizard for dinner. But hey, never say never, right ?" Nate said, flashing a quick smirk.

"Hahah, yeah! My first time eating it too, and i gotta say, i could definetly go for seconds!" Preston laughed.

Nate chuckled and agreed with him on that.

"Look, i uh. I know i might be touching on a delicate subject. But what happened to you folks, for you all to end up homeless and on the run ? If you don't mind me asking." Nate asked, inquiring about how him and his group came to end up in Concord.

Preston eyed him for a minute before nodding lightly and exhaling.

"The Gunners happened."

"Who are the Gunners ? They're not some new Government or something, are they ?" Nate asked, curious about who these 'Gunners' were.

"No! Thank Christ no. They're highly trained and well supplied mercenaries that the wealthy people of the Commonwealth hire to carry out the harder than normal type of tasks others couldn't accomplish. Only thing that matters to them is how much the get paid at the end of the day. They're absolute scum, and they're just like Raiders. They did fucking horrible things to Quincy and all the people that lived there and they deserve to die for it!" Preston said through now gritted teeth. He started recalling the events.

"Quincy was still around ? Damn. What did they do to the people that lived there ?" Nate asked politely.

"It's a long story. It started when Sturges radioed us for help. The detachment i was a part of, led by a great man, called Colonel. Ezra Hollis, arrived to help. fifteen of us in total. When we arrived in the area, a large force of Gunners had just started attacking the town and all it's citizens.

We came up behind the Gunners and took down most of them, and we successfully drove the remaining ones away from town. But Sturges was worried about how little of us there were there to defend the town, so Col. Hollis radioed for some backup from other detachments. Except that help never came, because the Minutemen were on their last legs at that point in time, and there was a hell of a lot of internal dispute going on.

Because of that, one of our own turned on us, to go join _**them** **!**_ Can you believe that shit ?!" Preston furiously asked through clenched teeth, as his nostrils flared. He was clearly getting angrier by the second, raising his voice as he explained in detail what happened, but not shouting about it.

"His name was Clint Monroe. We all trusted him! I thought he was my friend! But No! He joined those monsters, and he obviously told them of an advantage they could have over us _and_ the town. A way they could beat us. Because the next morning the Gunners attacked everyone from up above on the highway. Myself and nineteen others, consisting of a mix of Minutemen and Settlers were able to escape...but everyone else in Quincy ? Civilians, Minutemen...and...and Children. They were all killed by those fucking monsters!" Preston furiously recalled, slamming his fist down on the table, before realizing what he'd done and apologizing.

"Well over fifty Innocent people were killed that day. And for fuck all reason! The Gunners killed the majority of all that was left of the Minutemen. They killed most of my closest friends, including our squad leader, Colonel. Hollis. When we escaped the attack on Quincy it was only me and eight other Minutemen left among those twenty. We were forced to retreat into Jamaica Plains.

But they weren't done yet, oh no! No, they chased us down and killed a few more of us there, but Ferals got between us and them, killed people on each side in such horrible ways. Luckily for those of us left they stopped chasing us after we passed Jamaica Plains. but after that we ended up in Lexington...The place was filled with Ferals _and_ Raiders. And they killed a few more of us. So we kept running, until eventually we ended up in the Museum of Freedom, and then you came along. The rest you know, of course."

Nate was speechless. His groups journey here sounded so tragic.

"Jesus...Preston. I, um, i'm really sorry to hear that. That must've been a terrible experience, to have to witness something like that. Those poor people..."

"But that, uh..." Preston said catching Nate's attention again, as he started rubbing his temple. Preston inhaled and took a moment to compose himself.

"But...Marcy and Jun, they...they lost someone in Quincy. Someone _very_ special to them. It's not for me to say who it was that they lost. And when you see then next, it'd be best to avoid bringing it up, it's still fresh in their minds you see. In any case, i...i need to try and apologise to them later. I genuinely didn't mean to upset either of them." Preston admitted, sounding like he was on the verge of breaking down in tears.

Preston's story sounded absolutely devastating. It kinda reminded Nate of Anchorage, in a way.

Nate reached across the table and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let me promise you this, Preston. Sometime in the distant future. You, me, and whoever else wants to join us. We'll take the fight back to them and we'll kill every. Last. One of them...Not today, not tomorrow. But someday!"

Preston's expression turned from that of one consumed by anger, back to that normal happy one that Nate was familiar with at this point. He rubbed his eyes, and then one side of Preston's mouth curled up into a small smile. "Heh, yeah. Hell yeah we will!"

"Thanks Nate, you've actually kinda lifted my spirits, if i'm being completely honest. Anyway. I'd like to move away from that topic. You know how relieved i am though, that we've finally got a home after all that time we were on the road for ? _You_ Nate Johnson. You led us all here to Sanctuary! You saved my life and each of those people's lives! And for that, you've earned my respect, and my trust!" Preston told him with a big smile, while he pointed outside the house. Reducing the anger in his tone and replacing it with gratitude.

He cleared his throat and kept speaking, "-And i'm not just taking about what you did in Concord. If you didn't give us a home here...well, i don't think we would've lasted much longer out there." Preston told Nate, laying down his feelings to him about what he's done for him.

Now it seemed it was Nate's turn to lay down his feelings about what he'd done for them. "It was the right thing to do. I couldn't have lived with myself if i'd done anything other than welcome you in."

"See, that shows me just how big your heart of gold is, heh-heh! And this place ? Man, this place is great for us. Plenty of space to grow some crops, a lot of houses and cellars to keep us safe. Workbenches and tools galore to keep our weapons and the power armor in good condition." Preston said, counting his fingers with a big, ever growing grin plastered on his face as he listed off and summarised everything up.

"We're set here man." Preston told him with confidence rising in his tone now, looking the happiest Nate had seen him since they met.

But there was a question Preston needed to ask Nate. One he was really curious about.

"Also, i've been wondering something about you since we got here. Maybe it's just that you do only keep to this house, but i have noticed that the rest of the neighbourhood is covered in leaves, tires and trees. Maybe you just don't see the point in tidying this place up, if so then that's cool. But that does seem kinda odd to me even still. Another thing i've noticed is that you're wearing a Vault suit. Again, maybe you might've just left your vault not too long ago and only just came across this place recently. Look man, I promise you, no-one will judge you if you've only been here for a week or two, but i would like to know the truth. Have you lived here long ?"

Nate kinda figured this question was coming sooner or later. A messy as hell neighbourhood, a Vault suit...yeeeeah. It was time to tell this man who was born in this bombed world that he was actually from before the bombs fell. Preston certainly deserved the truth after all.

"Yes...and No. Look, it's kinda difficult to try and describe it, so you'll have to bear with me. So...to put it to you the best way i can...Yes. I've lived here for a very long time...But at the same time, No, i haven't. Not in the way you would expect atleast. I...look. Here's the god honest truth. I lived here...but it was before the Bombs fell." Nate said. Making Preston the first person in this devastated future to know this knowledge.

Preston looked at Nate, and when he did he looked confused. He started squinting his eyes slightly, then he straightened up in his seat. He pushed himself as far back in his seat as he could. Not saying a single word, just taking it all in. Though Nate had expected that. Until finally.

"Wwwhat do you mean 'Before the War' ? Wait, 'before the bombs dropped'... **No!** No, surely you're not saying what i think you are...Are you saying...?"

"Yeah, what you're probably thinking right now ? It's true. I lived here in Sanctuary, in this very house, all the way back in the year 2077. It's hard to get around the fact that was over 210 years ago now. As well as the fact that, that makes me...what ? 239 years old in total ? Shit, well how about that!" Nate chuckled to himself upon the realization.

"-Anyway, back on topic. I was stood on a platform, not too far from here, and saw the nukes fall. I saw that...giant mushroom cloud form in the sky. I saw, and felt the shockwave that sped towards me seconds later. I saw all the destruction it caused in a few mere seconds. I saw how it made everything you've seen out there, everything that i knew and loved...into the way it is now." Nate told him.

"God-Damn! You saw a nuclear explosion with your own eyes ? That must've certainly been a sight to behold then! God. You're just like one of those old Pre-War Ghouls then, ain't you. Only with skin!"

Now Nate looked confused. "What's a Ghoul ?"

"Wow! You truly _are_ from before the War, aren't you ? Well, Ghouls...are...they're irradiated people. Most are just like you and me, except they look pretty messed up. Messed up as in mostly peeled away skin, some muscle showing in places. They've all lost their noses, and some even look like dry raisins. They all live a hell of a long time too. Some of them are from before the bombs, like you. Only they've lived all the years since then, out here. It's a wonder they didn't lose their minds to be honest."

"-Though they aren't completely immortal. What i mean is that if they get injured anywhere vital they can still die, just like you and me. But they're still...people. Now the ones i'm gonna talk about now are _much_ , much different. With these Ghouls, they've gotten to the point where the radiation exposure has completely rotted their brains and made them feral. They'll charge at you and rip you apart the second they see you. No way to talk them down. We call these ones Feral Ghouls."

"Jesus. Those poor people. Is this the way the world is now ?" Nate thought.

"So, you saw a nuclear explosion with your own eyes ? How did you feel, y'know, seeing something like that ?" Preston inquired.

"Well, obviously I felt fear. Fear that we'd all get burnt to a crisp before we could get to safety. I've never felt more scared than i did that day. I was scared absolutely shitless, both for myself, and for my family. I was also worried for the people around me. Worried that was how we'd all die, y'know...But, we got lucky." Nate admitted

"Wait, you have a family ? Where are they now, are they still in whichever Vault it is you came from ?" Preston asked curiously.

 ** _Ouch._**

Nate closed his eyes and did his best to contain his emotions. 'He couldn't have known.' He told himself.

"One of them is, the other isn't." Nate simply answered, trying to hide the growing anger in his tone.

"Are they waiting for you to get back to them ?" Preston asked. Unintentionally adding salt to Nate's open wound.

"No. They're not." Nate replied flatly. Letting out a hint of anger in his tone.

Sensing Nate's mood, Preston backed off. "Sorry man, if you don't wanna talk about your family that's completely fine. But i am curious. How do you look so young and...and how do you not have _any_ type of burns to your skin, or have any sort of radiation sickness ?"

"Well, we were lowered into our Vault just in time to avoid any of that happening. We were given a spot in a Vault, called 'Vault 111'. We were given access due to my service to my country, mainly because of my time being a Soldier in the Army, and what i did in that time."

Preston jaw damn near hit the floor, and his eyes almost left their sockets.

"Wait, hold up! You were a Soldier ?! You were a Soldier in the actual Pre-War Military ?!" He exclaimed in pure amazement.

"Yeah, i was. I spent many years of my life serving." Nate replied, answering his question.

"Were you apart of the Marines ? The Navy ? The Army ?"

"I was part of the 108th Infantry, 2nd Battalion. I've been all around the world during my time in the Military. I even fought in the Liberation of Anchorage."

"You were in the battle of Anchorage ?!" Preston gasped, just as surprised as he had been with the revelation of Nate being a soldier. "Holy shit, Nate! Do you know how much i've read about, and heard about, concerning that battle! And you were part of it...that's just...Wow!" Preston said, exploding in a mix of shock and excitement.

"Yeah...but uh, after that i, uh...well, i left. I left the Army behind for good. Because i saw too much death, killed too many that seemed like they didn't wanna even be fighting there, and because of that i didn't wanna have to kill anyone else. But...uh, it looks like i don't get much of a choice now." Nate told him as he looked out his broken window into the distance, knowing how survival seemed to work in this new world.

"Yeah, i think i can understand how that would leave a bad taste in someone's mouth. And yeah, unfortunately you're right about the world we live in today. If you don't carry a weapon at all times it could cost you your life, or worse. It's my hope that we can change that one day, y'know." Preston said to him.

"So you said you've read about Anchorage. Do you enjoy reading about history, Preston ?" Nate asked him

"Oh yeah definetly, for sure man. I read as much as i can find about it. Either through books in libraries or old newspapers. It's always interested me, ever since i was a kid." Preston explained to Nate, a small smile forming on his face.

"So i take it you knew about General Chase, and the leader of the Reds, General Jingwei ?" Nate curiously asked.

"Oh definetly! Hell yes, i do! I've read all about how General Chase fought off multiple Chinese at once, how he shrugged off bullets to the shoulder, and even how he commandeered one of the Secret Chinese Chimera Tanks and used it against the Reds! I've read that a lone soldier took on General Jingwei singlehandedly and killed him with his own sword! I mean that's truly amazing to think about! But despite how much i've read i've still never found out who the soldier was. That part was always a torn up or burnt away part of the page sadly." Preston said, reading from memory his knowledge of the final days of the Liberation of Anchorage.

"Well, how about that. Huh." Nate said responding with a brief chuckle, before clearing his throat. "Preston. Would you believe that the soldier that killed General Jingwei...is the very man sitting next to you now ?"

Preston was silent again. Then he started to grin slightly, and as the grin got wider, and wider until Preston finally gave Nate a response. "Hahah, you're just messing with me, aren't you ?"

Nate expression remained unchanged. Until it finally clicked in Preston's head, and he realized that Nate wasn't lying, and was being deadly serious.

"You're not...Nah... _nah!_ No way, Nate! No! No ?! No way ! Are you...Holy fuck! You're...y-you're serious, aren't you ?! You're telling be that not only did you fight in that war, an-and tons more before that. But you're saying that you're the man that basically ended the Reds Assault on Anchorage ?!" Preston asked him, completely serious. Already stood up on his feet and holding his head in shock. He kept opening up and closing his mouth, like he wanted to say or ask something but couldn't because the sheer shock of the revelation kept him from forming a complete sentence.

"Yup. I can still it all quite clearly. I remember destroying three cannons up in the hills that were firing on our base. I remember destroying two fuel tanks and then fighting those damn Chimera Tanks. I remember clearing out a listening post and fighting enemies wearing activated stealth suits. I remember...I remember overloading their pulse field, and leading the charge into their little base. But what i remember most of all, is when i fought, disarmed and then gutted General Jingwei with his fancy little Shock-sword! Throughout each and every one of those tasks, my best friend. Sergeant Benjamin Montgomery, was there with me, helping me out the whole way. I couldn't have done it without him...and the rest of my team." Nate said, reflecting on all the good he did in Anchorage, and how it still wasn't enough in the end, atleast to him anyway.

" **WHAT ?! YOU KNEW SERGEANT MONTGOMERY ?! _AND_ HE WAS YOUR BEST FRIEND ?!** " Preston asked, practically shouting the question at Nate because he simply couldn't contain himself anymore. Preston now definetly couldn't stop himself from moving around on the spot from the sheer amount of excitement anymore. He kept switching from putting both his hands on his head, to putting one on his hip and the other over his mouth again and again. He apologised for shouting in Nate's face and then became completely speechless for a minute or two.

Preston turned to look at Nate again, and said "Ho-ho...Holy shit Nate! I...Jesus! You're...you're gonna need to give me a moment to process everything i've just heard." Preston told him as he bent over and put both his hands on his knees, to stop them from shaking with excitement.

When Preston finally managed to calm himself down and sit back in his seat he cleared his throat to start speaking again. "I'd love to hear more the World before the bombs and about the Wars you fought in, one day in the future. But i won't press any further with it right now...because you lost friends...didn't you ?"

Nate's smile instantly faded away, and he muttered a quiet "Yeah."

"Sorry man. I didn't mean to remind you of that. But I do know the feeling. Sucks, don't it ? So, lets change the subject again. You said were in a Vault, called 'Vault 111', right ?"

"Mmm-Hmm. That's the one."

Preston rubbed his chin and was in deep thought, trying to remember if he knew anyone from that Vault. "Hmm...i've never heard of that one. Where is it exactly ? Is it close by ?"

"Yeah. It's, actually just up at the top of the hill, behind these row of houses. My family and i rushed up there when the news told us about nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania. Truth be told, if Codsworth hadn't switched the TV on that morning, then...i don't think we'd have made it up there in time. So in a way Codsworth saved us. Sad thing is, we couldn't even bring Codsworth with us to Vault. So he's been out here on his own for 210 years, until i got out of the Vault recently of course."

"Huh, it's a wonder he didn't end up going crazy in all that time." Preston added, raising a good point.

"Yeah, that's what i thought. Anyway, once we were down in the Vault, myself and seventeen others were lied to by Vault-Tec, and frozen. We were sealed up in these cryogenic stasis pods. My pod malfunctioned though, and i was released. I actually just woke up earlier today, if you can believe that. I think i'd only been out of the Vault for about an hour or so before i came across you and yours."

Preston's eyes widened at the new information. Now having even more stuff to process. But instead of questioning it, he just gave Nate a surprised smile.

"Damn, that sounds just like this comic i read a long time ago. It was about this American super-soldier that had this awesome unbreakable shield, and eventually he ended up frozen in ice, only to wake up years later in the future! So, let me see if i have this right. You'd just returned to the surface, to find what's left of the world you used to know. You find it blown to hell, and basically dead in a way. The only familiar face you can find is Codsworth. And one of the first things you do is help us fight off all those Raiders! Damn. I've said it already, but hell, i'll say it again. You're a great guy, Nate. And all of that. The Pre-War world, Anchorage, the Cryo-Vault. Man, that's just so strange for me to imagine." Preston admitted to him, still trying to wrap his head around it all.

"Believe me, it's still strange for me to imagine too." Nate replied, rubbing the back of his head as he leaned back in his chair.

"I still can't believe i'm talking to someone from before the Great War though!" Preston exclaimed with a happy tone, showing off his smile again.

"So, you said there were seventeen others with you in the Vault. Now, i know this might be a bad topic, so stop me any time you want. So you already mentioned one member of your family is still in the Vault...but...did anybody else make it out with you ?"

Preston studied Nate's face and noticed his eyes twinkle briefly before Nate blinked and turned to fully face him, looked him right in the eyes and saying,

"Yes. One other person did. My Son. But...not in the way you'd hope. As for everyone else in that vault. They're all dead. Two or three people, hell maybe even more...came into the Vault. They un-froze everyone and woke us up from our cryogenic sleep...they opened up the pod that my Son was in, and i could only watch, as they kidnapped him. God, and i was fucking useless! I couldn't do a god-damned thing to help him! My pod malfunctioned and let me out, i have no idea how much time passed between them waking us up and my pod malfunctioning. I have to assume it was only a couple days. Weeks at most. When i was out of my pod the first thing i did was check on everyone else to see if i could wake them up too somehow. But no. They were already dead. And I checked every single pod, just incase."

Preston regretted his choice of words once again, his eyes looking down at the ground.

"-I've decided to stay here today, and make sure that you'd all be okay here. Now that i know you're gonna be fine i'm going back out there, to this 'Great Green Jewel'. I'm going to find my son, and make his kidnappers pay." Nate said confidently, but leaving out any mention of Nora, for now atleast.

"My God...you've had to go through so much misery in your life, haven't you Nate. I genuinely didn't mean to make you relive any of it. Just...Fuck, man. You must've known all those people for a long time too, huh ?"

The only response Preston got was a nod.

"Nate, Look. You've promised to help me get revenge on the Gunners one day. So you tell me how i can help you get your son back." Preston said pulling his seat around the table to sit next to Nate. "-Because i'll help you out however much i can. The unfortunate part though, is that i can't wander too far from Sanctuary with you. Lexington is as far as i'm willing to go, but i just can't go any further than that. I do wanna help you find your boy, Nate. Truly, i do. But at the same time i can't just abandon my people, atleast not until i know they're gonna survive without me here to protect them." Preston confessed, feeling somewhat guilty

"It's fine, honestly. Preston, I get it. You don't wanna lose the last of your people, and that's completely understandable. But you don't need to apologise for that. Because i'll have Codsworth with me anyway."

"In any case. Could you tell me some details about your son and his kidnappers ? If you tell me everything you remember then i can help you narrow down the areas where he could possibly be." Preston told him, pulling out a notepad and a pen from one of his pockets.

"Well first of all, my Son. His name is Shaun. He's...uh. He's not even a year old."

Hearing that the kidnapped victim wasn't even a year old made Preston instantly stop writing down the details before he'd even gotten 'Shaun' written down.

"Not even a year old ?! Damn, that's even more messed up. Man, who would kidnap a baby ?" Preston asked, shaking his head.

"That's what i intend to find out, Preston." Nate deadpanned.

"Hmm. I don't know who would kidnap a baby. But they deserve what's coming to them. Won't argue that."

"Couldn't have said it better. Anyway the last time i saw my boy, he was dressed in a little white hat we'd gotten him, and he was wrapped in his little white blanket."

"Okay. Well, truth is there's not gonna be many babies out there dressed like that. Which'll either make the search even easier, _or_ the kidnappers could've realised that too and changed his clothes to make him blend in more with other babies out there. Only time will tell i'm afraid."

"Right..." Nate said, now sounding a little less hopeful than he had before.

"But hey, just cause we might not be able to find your son instantly, doesn't mean we can't find his kidnappers. Tell me about the people who took him. What did they look like ? And were they armed ?"

"There was a man and a woman, only the man was armed. The woman was dressed in some clean green outfit, looked like something someone would wear in a laboratory. Maybe it was a radiation suit ? I don't know. Her face was concealed by tinted visor. That useful ?"

"Doesn't sound like anyone i've came across or even heard about i'm afraid. Never heard about anyone wearing a clean, green radiation suit. Hmm...okay, well what about the man. What did he look like ? Did he have the same clothes as her ?"

"No. The man was dressed _completely_ different to her, he had a brown jacket on with a white shirt underneath it, and wore some fancy armor that covered his left arm. And he was balding, he seemed to be in his forties, maybe his fifties ? There was this large pink scar going down his left eye. His voice sounded gravely and he carried a large revolver. I think it had a bull barrel. Does he sound familiar atleast ?" Nate asked, having given every fine detail he could remember.

Preston didn't answer immediately. Because he looked like he was in deep thought. Then he replied, uttering a simple "Yeah!"

"Yeah, it does actually! I remember hearing a lot of stories amongst the older Minutemen about some highly dangerous Mercenary that caused trouble at settlements all over the Commonwealth - called **Kellogg**. Perhaps those people in the green suits hired him to help them with that job." Preston suggested.

"That would make a lot of sense actually. How bad is this guy ?" Nate inquired.

"Well apparently this guy would do just about anything, for the right price. You wanted someone beaten black and blue, want someone dead, want a caravan hit _or_ want it protected, want a bodyguard or just want someone scared ? Go to Kellogg. _And_ in all those stories there were two things were always mentioned. That this guy carried a large revolver, and that he had a large scar over his left eye! That's gotta be your man!"

"So where can i find him ?" Nate instantly asked

Preston looked away and sighed. "That's just it. He went off everyone's radar a couple of years ago. No-one knows where he is now, or if he's even still alive."

"Is there anyone in that 'Diamond City' that could help me find him at all ?" Nate asked, practically begging.

"Yeah, there is. There's a place there called 'Valentine's Detective Agency'. That's your best hope of finding Kellogg." Preston told him.

"That's fantastic! I should head to Diamond City soon then."

"Are you sure you wanna head out there so soon ?"

"Yeah, i am. I need to find him, so that through him i can find my son. But now that i know for sure where to look, i want you to tell me about the Minutemen. Because i'm curious to learn about this group that you were a part of. What were 'your' Minutemen like ? I say ' _your_ ' Minutemen, because I remember learning about the Minutemen back in high school...so many years ago. They were around long before my time, but i only learned a small amount about those Minutemen. And honest to god, i hadn't expected to find a new-age, post nuclear devastation version of the Minutemen, or people using their name, here in the future. So please, could you explain to me who they are, and what they stood for ?"

"Yeah, sure thing man. Well, the best way i can put it to you is through the slogan that we had. **_'Protect the people at a Minute's notice.'_ ** Or atleast, that was the idea. The main goal of any Minuteman, whether it be just one person or ten, was to get to a settlement in need of help as quick as you could to help them with whatever it was they needed help with, which was mainly Raiders, Mutants or Feral Ghouls. We were always reminded, and expected to greet everyone there with a smile when we arrived at a settlement. Because it'd help improve trust and relations with each one we visited. Our superiors certainly had the right idea there."

"So how long were you with them ?"

"I joined up with them as soon as i turned 17, they'd only accept you if you were 17 or older. They didn't want anyone younger than that out there fighting whatever the Commonwealth threw our way, and rightly so!"

"Couldn't agree more. So what made you join the Minutemen exactly ?"

Preston smiled, "I joined up because i wanted to make a difference to the Commonwealth. And...we did. Or atleast for a while we did...but then...well, things fell apart..." The Minuteman just looked back down at the floor and stopped talking.

Nate watched Preston's posture, saw how defeated he looked. He felt sorry for the man sitting next to him, and could only imagine the experiences the man must've gone through.

Preston looked back up and looked out into Nate's back yard, through where the window used to be. He took his time and then spoke up again. "Now it looks like i might be the last Minuteman left standing...that's honestly a really scary thought to me. Look, i won't lie. The Commonwealth _needs_ the Minutemen, or rather, what they're supposed to be." He said, looking at Nate again.

"Aren't there other groups out there trying to help the people ?" Nate asked, curious if the Minutemen were the only good guys this world had.

Preston avoided eye-contact now. "No." He said. "There, uh...there was never anyone else."

"Oh. How bad is it out there then ?"

"It's...It's real bad man. Especially as of lately. The Gunners _and_ the Raider gangs are both growing in numbers on, i'd say, a weekly basis. There's an absolute shit-ton of danger out there, Nate. Uh, speaking of which, it's probably best if i educate you about all the new threats you'd come across out there, in your travels."

"Yeah, i'd appreciate that actually. Better knowing what to expect from whatever's out there."

"So obviously you've already fought some Raiders, and i told about Feral Ghouls and The Gunners. I'll start with the most terrifying beast you'll find out there.

A Deathclaw. That's what everyone calls that giant 'lizard' you fought against back in Concord. Everyone i've ever met agrees that they're _thee_ deadliest monsters out there. I'm sure you're aware." Preston said, motioning to Nate's new scar.

"A 'Deathclaw' huh ? Name definetly suits it, couldn't think of a more appropriate one if i tried. That one i faced threw me about like i weighed nothing! And i was in full Power Armor for Christ sake! The very tip of it's claws only just caught the front of my face and look what it did." Nate said as he ran a finger over his new scar.

"How's that feeling anyway ? Do you need anything for it ?"

"Still stings. But i'm fine, it's not stopped me being able to see or smell, so yeah i'm good thanks. Anyway, What big, scary, radiation monster am i learning about next ?" Nate joked.

"Heheh. Right. So next there's Super Mutants. They're mutated, obviously. They're also dumb, cannibalistic, green monsters. They used to be regular humans just like you and me. And that's a scary thought, that. I've heard that they were exposed to FEV and mutated into what they are now. But they still resemble humans, to a degree. Except for a few differences. The only advantage we have over them is that they're much dumber than normal people.

Unfortunately everything else they got is an advantage to them. They're taller than every human out there, they're much more muscly than even you, and they stink like nothing you'd believe! Jeeesus, they stink like a load of Brahmin shit! But there's more. If what i've just described didn't sound bad enough then you're in for a treat. Regular Super Mutants out there have big brothers. One's that are about ten times bigger than them, and five times bigger than a Deathclaw. And they're just as terrifying as a Deathclaw, especially when you're getting chased by one, let me tell ya. We call those types, a Behemoth, and trust me, you'd know one straight away if you saw one."

Nate blew out a breath of air and rubbed his head at the thought.

"There's also many different types of Raider gangs out there, spread out all over the Commonwealth. Different gangs as in, different types of style. Different tactics. Different intentions. Different forms of loyalty. What they all share with each other is that they all steal and they all kill innocents for the hell of it. And if they capture someone, they might do it so they can get ransom money from some settlement, or to lure people out of their homes just to kill 'em. But the majority of the time if they capture someone, it's because they're intending on raping them, 'for fun'. Anyone they can overpower they take back to their hideout, so that they can do horrible things to them for as long as they want. Disgusting Fucks! They're all absolute scum, and unless they decide to start a new life, leave that Raider lifestyle all behind, and surrender to us, then they should all be shot on sight. Can't, and shouldn't take any chances when it comes to them."

Nate just looked up at the ceiling and chuckled.

"Oh, i'd do worse than just shoot 'em. Rapists would never get mercy from me. No second chances. In my book, all they deserve to get, is tortured for weeks, maybe months, and then hung! See, back in my time most Rapists would only get four, maybe five years in a comfy jail cell. Ten tops. Whereas someone who say, stole a car, got in a big fight or robbed a shop, would usually get much longer. I fucking hated the justice system for that type of shit. Made you feel unsafe y'know. But seeing as there's no police to stop me now, i'd like to kill as many rapists as i can find out there."

"When you're stuck in a big gun fight it's not that easy to deliver a non-fatal blow, but i agree with you completely man." Preston said, pointing a finger at Nate in a respectful way.

"There's some Pre-War Robots that're still active, most of them have gone haywire though, and shoot most folk on sight. You mainly find fights from either an Assaultron, a Protectron, or a Mister Gutsy. So watch out for them."

"Appreciate the heads-up." Nate said

"So then there's the threat of a Yao Guai. They're what you would've called a 'grizzly bear' back in your day. They're usually missing most of their fur, and all the one's i've seen have been covered in scars. I'd say they're one of the deadliest creatures you'll come across, i heard that some have gone toe to toe with Deathclaws, if you can believe that. They definetly rank in my 'Top 5 highest' list."

Preston racked his head to think of the next irradiated monster to tell him about.

"Then there's...yeah, then there's Mirelurks. They were crabs and lobsters in your time. Then the radiation made them just as big as you and me. They tend to be found down by rivers or large bodies of water, but they mainly stick to beaches. They're fast, and they can disguise themselves well."

"Then there's the giant insects. Bloatflies, BloodBugs and Radroaches. The Bloatflies shoot some nasty shit at you, the Bloodbugs can shoot your own blood in your face, if they can get any outta you in the first place. Not really something i ever wanna experience to be honest. And the Radroaches are the least threatening creature out there. BUT, i have seen a large amount of them group up on this one Ghoul in the past, they covered it up completely and took advantage of that, there wasn't much left after that."

Nate wrinkled his nose at the thought.

"-Overall though none of them are too much to worry about, you can easily crush one under your boot, so i wouldn't worry about them. But like i said, in large numbers they can become a threat."

"Yeah, i've fought some already. They didn't seem _**that** _ menacing, but i'll definetly keep your warning in mind." Nate said, interrupting quickly before letting Preston continue.

"Good to hear. Anyway man, that about covers it on all the dangers i know of out there. I know i've given you a lot of information to process, but thanks for listening, it's been nice to have someone else to talk to about it, y'know. And i just wanna say i've really enjoyed our conversation Nate. Learning that you're from before the war and fought in Anchorage has given me so much to process too." He said with a still-amazed smile.

"You've been a gracious host and you've proven to me just how much of a great person you are, despite what you've been through and what you're going through now. I know it's gonna difficult adjusting, hell i know it's difficult adjusting _right now_ , and i know you're still having a hard time. But we're all here to help you, remember that. I believe you're someone that this world needs in order to start healing, and i really do mean that. But anyway, i've probably been talking your ear off for long enough. So i think it's time we all got some shut-eye for the day. I'll see you tomorrow Nate." Preston said as he stood up to leave the house.

"Agreed. I've enjoyed our conversation too, man. Goodnight Preston."

"Goodnight Nate."

Now that Preston had finally left the house, Nate stood up and stretched out. He walked through to his and Nora's room and looked at his bed.

It still felt like he'd only gotten out of just yesterday. The frame wasn't too rotted, though the legs had all broken over the years, so that the mattress was pretty much on the floor now. Speaking of, the mattress itself seemed to be in good enough condition too, no stains and only torn around the edges a wee bit. So Nate took off his Vault Suit, but left his Pip-Boy attached. He grabbed one of the sheets from one of the workbenches, and curled up in his once proud bed.

* * *

 ** _The next morning..._**

 _"Let the boy go. Only gonna tell you once!"_

 _"NO! Leave us alone you, monsters!"_

 _"Hey! Hey, leave my family alone asswipe!"_

 _"Nora! God, leave her alone you pricks!"_

 _" **Urgh!** I'm not giving you Shaun! **Ugh!** **NATE!**_ _ **NA-** " _

_**BANG!**_

 _ **...**_

"- **NOOOOOORAAA!** " Nate screamed at the top of his lungs, wildly punching the air as he shot upright in complete shock and anger. He was sweating profusely and breathing rapidly once again.

His vision was blurry, and he could feel tears run down his face and hang off the bottom of his chin. He started looking around in slight confusion, until he realised where he was now...back in his bed, which was now covered in a cold sweat. He was back in this new world. "Shit." He muttered through his rapid breathing.

Right now he felt exactly like he did the very first time he started having nightmares about the events of Anchorage. Completely unprepared for it, and filled with regret and anger and helplessness. But the difference this time, was that Nora wasn't here to comfort him, and hell, now there weren't even any bird songs to help him calm down.

"My goodness me, Sir! Are you alright ?! Whatever is the matter ?!" Codsworth asked, sounding extremely panicked. Appearing right next to him in seconds.

Nate turned away from Codsworth and used the back of his hand to wipe away a few tears. He cleared his throat and turned back to face him, replying, "I'm sorry Codsworth, i, uh, didn't mean to make you panic." He said through choked up pauses.

"Sir, don't apologise, you've done absolutely nothing wrong, but please tell me what happened and why you screamed ? You had me worried sick!" Codsworth replied, acting like a complete mother hen.

Nate was distracted from answering by loud footsteps that could be heard getting closer and closer until he heard the sound of the front door being throw open, and a second later none other than Preston appeared through Nate's doorway, panting and obviously just as panicked as Codsworth.

"Jesus man, are you okay ?! I was patrolling the area when i heard you scream. I damn near shit myself! I was terrified that some raiders had found this place and attacked! What's happened ?" He asked through heavy breaths, looking at him and waiting for an answer.

"I'm really sorry i scared you both. It's, uh...I have nightmares. Had them since Anchorage you see. But i wasn't prepared for this one in the slightest! God, i wish they'd just stop!"

Codsworth understood, but Nora had always been the one to help Nate after each one, so, Codsworth left the room to go make his master a hot cup of coffee.

Preston meanwhile stayed put. He laid his rifle against the doorway and pulled over the armchair from the corner and sat next to Nate.

"Nightmares, huh. Man...Shit. I've been there myself man. Still get them myself every now and again. Been more frequent recently." Preston sighed, now relaxing his breath "I wish they'd stop too. But they never get easier, do they ?" He asked

His breathing slowed down now, Nate replied with a simple "No. No, they never do. I keep thinking i could somehow deal with them, but i just can't"

"Well, as someone who goes through the exact same deal as you, i just wanna let you know that if you wanna talk about it, i'm here to talk, or to listen." Preston said, hoping that would comfort him.

Nate thought about how he'd already told Preston of Shaun and the Vault already. Preston did just say that he experiences nightmares too. So maybe he should tell him about Nora.

"Yeah. Maybe talking about it to someone who's experienced it too might help somehow. Look, i'll uh, i'll get dressed and meet you in the living room in a couple of minutes. Okay ?"

Preston just gave him a respectful smile and placed a hand on Nate's shoulder. "Sure thing."

When he was alone again Nate took a moment to just stare at the ceiling before he got up. He got dressed back into his Vault Suit and looked at the time on his Pip-Boy. '09:23'

When the nightmares came it was always between 9 o'clock and ten o'clock for some reason.

Nate walked through into the living room and found Preston and Codsworth talking away, Codsworth was in the kitchen area, while Preston was sat at the table, with his hat laid down the island.

When they noticed his presence they stopped and Codsworth called out to him. "Ah! I do hope you're feeling better, Master. I've left coffee on the table for you and Mister Garvey, Sir! Brewed to perfection, as always! Shall i prepare some breakfast ?" He asked

"Um, maybe later Codsworth. Thank you though." Nate quietly said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey man, look you don't need to talk about this if you're uncomfortable with it." Preston assured him.

"Nah, i...i gotta try talking to someone about it. I don't know if...if i can keep it to myself."

"It's okay man. In your own time."

Nate took a deep breath and started. "...For the longest time i've had these recurring nightmares about what happened in Anchorage. But...this time it was something completely different. Look, I uh, i never mentioned it before, thought it was too personal a detail. But i've already told you about Anchorage, that i'm from before the bombs and that my son has been kidnapped. So i feel like i can trust you with this Preston...In the Vault, when those people took my son...they didn't _just_ kidnap my Son...they also killed my Wife, Nora. She was trying to stop them from ripping our son from her arms. So the guy. Kellogg, you called him ? He shot her, in the chest. All that she did was try and stop them from taking our son...and he fucking killed her for it!"

Preston's shock after the confession was quite evident. He lowered his head and covered his mouth with one hand.

"Oh my god." he whispered "-My god, Nate. Fuckin' hell, i-i'm sorry you had to go through something like that. That's just...that's horrible. Christ. You've gone through so much...emotional pain in such a short amount of time. You and your family deserved none of what's happened. Just...Holy hell!"

"You and yours never deserved what you all had to go through either, Preston. But we've both still suffered through it anyway, didn't we." Nate sadly reminded him.

"Yeah. We did. So, your Wife...where's her body ? Is she...still in the Vault ?"

"Yeah. Couldn't bring myself to go back and move her, y'know."

"Would you, uh. Would you like me and Sturges to bury her for you ? And to bury all the other people you knew too ?" Preston offered, hoping to spare Nate even more pain.

"No, i uh. No. Not yet anyway. That's something i need to do myself, when the time comes. Besides, Nora and the others in the Vault are well preserved in their pods anyway. No, what i need to focus on, is finding my son."

Preston nodded at that, but looked troubled now.

"Is...something up, Preston ?" Nate asked

"Yeah. Just a couple of hours ago i got a request for help on my radio, from a nearby settlement. There's a place not too far from here, called Tenpines Bluff. There's some people there, and the man that i spoke to told me that they've been confronted by a big group of Raiders that've just turned up in the area overnight, and something big went down that he didn't tell me, said he'd explain when we got there. He asked for the Minutemen specifically. I told them they'd get some help as soon as possible."

"Do you want my help with getting rid of their Raider problem ?"

"Well...yeah, i do. But look, Nate, I want you to understand that you don't need to go out there and help them. I know your main focus is to find your son and i'll understand if you say no. But me leaving my group on their own _and_ taking on a big group of raiders by myself far away from here, are two things i'm not sure i can afford to do. So, would you go help them while i stay here and keep an eye out ? Please, Nate. They need our help. I need your help!"

"Yeah, of course i will, Preston. I won't lie, i want to head for Diamond City soon, but i will not leave this area when innocent people are in need of help Preston from scumbag raiders. So, i'll head out there in half an hour to help them while you stay here and protect your group. I'll go sort my gear out."

"Oh my god, thank you so much man. This means a lot to me. I won't forget this, and neither will those people in need of help. Thank you, Nate."

"No need to thank me, it's the right thing to do, after all."

* * *

Nate had agreed to go and help the people of 'Tenpines Bluff'. One thing he knew for a fact was that he'd need better protection than just a tight Vault jumpsuit and more firepower than a couple of guns with low ammo. So he returned to his bedroom and headed straight towards the corner closet.

The closet doors were no longer there, so had obviously been moved elsewhere in the years gone by. It didn't matter to Nate, because the valuable stuff was still here, untouched.

In the small closet was a footlocker the size of the closet, and two ammo boxes. The footlocker contained Nate's old Military Fatigues as well as a pair of road goggles and some more Stimpak, even though Nate had a very satisfactory amount of them, currently. Whereas the large Ammo Boxes contained...you guessed it. A shit-ton of Ammo.

Moving all the containers outside the closet space Nate knelt down and grabbed a small, easily concealed handle at the back of the closet and pulled it up. It revealed the false flooring.

He'd installed the false flooring and the items it held not long after he returned from the War. Nora and Codsworth knew of course, though neither of them could really understand why exactly, but regardless they were ultimately fine with it.

The false flooring was discarded to his side. What it had been concealing was a metal floor with a handle. Pulling the handle upwards revealed a very large storage safe that extended up to take up the entire closet space, and it contained Nate's secret stash.

He typed in his access code. 7-0-5-4. It gave a little beep and flashed a green light. Nate twisted the handle around and pulled the door out towards him. Giving him access to the contents. There were weapons held on display stands, Clothes at the bottom, and other essentials hidden in side doors that could extend outwards. It was a very useful safe indeed.

Nate had hidden away this little stash in the possible event of the Reds attacking the area of Boston and the surrounding areas...it seemed highly unlikely to ever happen. But he didn't care, he needed to be sure his family would always be safe.

Inside this storage safe were things Nate hadn't laid eyes upon for a _very_ long time. To say Nate was 'prepared for anything' was putting it lightly.

* * *

The very first thing Nate recovered from the safe was his black ILBE 2nd Generation Backpack. It came with an adjustable hip belt, included multiple compartments, and had a radio pouch. The sheer size of his pack alone was supremely useful as well. Because of the many compartments that the pack contained. The pack was able to stow everything he needed for an extended period. it had the ability to carry 120 pounds in total. A wise-choice he thought.

Now, weapon-wise he'd stashed the following:

One 9mm Pistol, with 20 extended mags and a small reflex scope.

A LeMat Revolver, which held 9 bullets, a noticeable advantage over other revolvers that only held 6 bullets.

An M16A4 with fitted with a variety of attachments, including: A tactical grip, an ACOG 4X Scope, a laser sight, a heartbeat sensor, a suppressor, some wrappings around the fore-end. And lastly, a dual drum magazine that held 100 bullets. Shaped like an infinity symbol. The weapon came with more cases of bullets, more infinity drum mags, and a few regular magazines taped together.

And lastly, came the prize possession of his entire gun load-out - A Stryker Strykezone 380 Crossbow. It was equipped with a detachable carry sling and there were 5 arrows already in the detachable quiver at the front of the weapon. Hell, the beauty even came with a hip quiver and 20 more arrows.

Moving away from the firearms, was a Z-hunter ZB-082 Bowie Knife, still secure in it's holster. And a pocket knife with a wooden hilt.

...

Carry-capacity-wise Nate had stashed away his tactical-military items that he'd had for years now. The first thing he retrieved was his Military utility belt, which he'd use for carrying bullets and bandages of course, and he even decided to attach his Knife holster to it, because there was no way it'd attached to his Vault suit.

The next item was a vertical shoulder holster. Its design included two gun holsters, one on each side. It also included some small ammo pouches too.

That wasn't all though. Nate also had two specially designed leg holsters for both of his thighs. He had them custom made. So that both the holsters each individually held two slots, for two handguns in one holster. Instead of just the basic single slot. Nate was proud of the finished product.

...

Clothes-wise he'd stored only the absolute essentials.

Memories of better times flooded Nate's brain when he pulled out his old Olive Green M-65 Field Military Jacket. This jacket was tear-resistant, waterproof and had a concealed hood as well as a hell of a lot of pockets.

The feeling repeated itself when Nate pulled out his Black, 9-Inch Combat Boots. Ones that put other boots to shame. They were great on any terrain, had slip-resistant out-soles and fantastic grip, were also waterproof, and were **very** comfortable, due to their air-cushioned midsole.

Lastly was two pairs of eye-wear. Some fancy tactical sunglasses he'd worn during his service, for casual wear. And a pair of Rothco Tactical Goggles, for keeping his sight 100% during high winds, snowstorms or rainfall.

...

As he pulled out the hidden side-doors of the safe, he found the last few items left:

First was a pair of protective, Anti-Riot hard shell Shin guards, and a pair of Tactical Elbow Pads.

His Standard Issue Military Flashlight. God knows it would be extremely useful, come nightfall wherever he found himself once he left here.

His red Swiss Champ - Swiss Army Knife which had every tool he could think of.

His little Pocket Torch, that was wind resistant and could reach up to 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit.

A Keychain of Duct Tape, used for taping up whatever needed taped-up when he was out in the middle of nowhere.

After that came his own Army Flask. It had been a gift from one of his friends before they were deployed to Anchorage. A friend that...hadn't made it, which made it extremely valuable to him, but was also a constant reminder. It had his Infantry Squad name engraved on it - **'108th Infantry, 2nd Battalion'**

The very last thing he found was the one thing that reminded him of his time in the War the most. His Dog Tags.

* * *

Nate looked down at the item gently swaying from his now clenched fist. He let his anger from the events of Anchorage boil in his mind.

...

Back before the Bombs dropped, Nate had just wanted to be done with War. Any War...

But with the way the War between America and China was going, he'd accepted that one day he might have to pick up his guns again. He dreaded the thought, of course.

Half of the reason why he'd stashed all of this away and out of sight, was because all he wanted to do was to just live a normal life with his Wife and Son. He wanted desperately to just grow old with Nora. And before all that, to teach Shaun all that he knew, and to be there for all those first moments. The first time he'd learn to drive. The first time he'd go to school. The first time he'd speak or walk. Maybe to one day get the news that he'd become a grand-father.

But the other half of the reason he'd stashed the stuff, was because he wanted both himself and his family to be safe if they were ever threatened by a Chinese invasion here in Boston, and this stash was the best, and possibly, only way to make sure of that. He just had a horrible feeling that they wouldn't always be safe.

In the end, it seems that he was quite wise to stash all of this away. Because after all, a War _had_ come to Boston. Just...not the one he was expecting.

Nate knew that the only way to stop feeling haunted by the memories that plagued his mind, and the nightmares that haunted his sleep, was to try and accept it and try to move on from it, rather than continue to ignore it and supress the feelings as he'd always done.

* * *

Now that Nate had retrieved all his gear, he laid out it all out on his bed and took a seat in his armchair. He pulled off the boots that'd come with his Vault-suit, opting to wear his combat boots instead, as they were better suited for the terrain out there. He slipped his feet into his Combat boots and double tied the laces.

He'd pre-loaded all his weapons and magazines before he'd stashed them away, so that he didn't need to waste any time loading them up if he was in a hurry. He strapped on his utility belt, fastened his shin guards and elbow pads, and secured his holsters around his legs and arms. He holstered all three of his pistols, and now he was looking down at the jacket laid on his bed.

In Nate's eyes, once the jacket was on he was more or less going back to War. He remembered promising himself that'd he'd never kill another person again so long as he lived.

Though he realized that he'd been forced to end his promise yesterday anyway. Nate thought about what he'd done, and then he remembered back many years ago. When he read a load of Batman comics back in his youth, and how even the Dark Knight, who was always dedicated to his 'no killing' rule, had himself broken it time and again.

He smirked at the memory and pulled the arms of his jacket on and then adjusted the jacket until it sat right. Standing up straight, Nate closed his eyes and took a deep breath of air. He double checked his pack and made sure his weapons were secured to it. Both the ones inside and on the sides.

He closed up the safe, and put it back down into the ground. Setting the false flooring back in place, he finally left his room, and found Codsworth waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Ready to go kill some more Raiders, Codsworth ?"

"Why yes. Point me at the next Raider you see, Sir. I'll take out the rubbish!" Codsworth exclaimed, making Nate chuckle once again.

So with that, they left their home to venture into the new world yet again...

* * *

And there we have it! Hope you enjoyed! Leave a review if you like :)

Til next time.


	9. Chapter 9: New World's Reality

" **HA! HEY WE GOT YA NOW ASSHOLE!** " A Raider yelled as he unloaded another round of bullets in the direction of the intruders.

Codsworth, who had a few more dents and scrapes on his dome since first leaving Sanctuary, was hovering next to his master with Dogmeat. They'd underestimated the raiders numbers and their accompanying firepower greatly.

"Sir, i-i do hate to add more bad news to our current predicament, but my sensors indicate that we are completely surrounded. Worse still, i estimate that our odds of survival are only at 39.6 Percent!"

"Never tell me the odds, Codsworth!"

The shooting stopped, and the raiders started banging on the door like wild animals.

" **HEY! IF YOU COME OUT NOW, WE PROMISE TO NOT KILL YA SLOWLY! HAHAHA!** " A different Raider shouted from the other direction.

* * *

 _A few hours ago..._

Nate and Codsworth met up with Preston, who marked out the location of Tenpines Bluff on Nate's Pip-Boy with the coordinates he'd been given. He wished them luck and thanked them again. They were about to leave when they were stopped by the voice of Jun Long, who appeared out of the Washington's house.

"Hey, do you have a moment ?" Jun asked Nate.

"Yeah. Of course i do, Jun." Nate replied with a brief smile.

"I appreciate it. Look, I-I just wanted to thank you, for helping us out in Concord a-and for giving us a home here...i only wish we'd run into you sooner." Jun admitted, slumping his arms down by his sides.

"Hey, don't mention it. You guys deserve this. You all have been through hell, haven't you ?" Nate asked him with slight hesitation.

Jun looked back up at him and sadly answered the question. "Yeah...you have no idea. In these past few months we-we've lost...we've lost everything." Jun told him, sounding heartbroken when he spoke.

"What, uh...Look, you don't have to answer this, and i'm sorry if the question upsets you, but uh...what happened to you guys ?"

Jun exhaled a loud sigh, "Long story short, we've been on the move since those Gunner bastards attacked Quincy. There used to be so many more of us. Preston did the best he could to keep everyone alive...but...yo-you see, uh...M-M-My son, he...he's gone." Jun said, having to control his emotions to the best of his ability as he recalled the horrifying event.

The shock in Nate's face was evident immediately. And in that split second he thought about Shaun. Sure, he had been kidnapped. Sure, it was horrible to go through that. But, if it'd played out differently, and Shaun been killed along with his mother...Oh, boy. Nate wouldn't have known what to do with himself. He would've just shut down completely.

"I-Jun...I...Not completely, but i understand how you feel. I...I recently lost my Wife...and i also witnessed my Son, Shaun get kidnapped, all while i was powerless to stop it all."

"My god, I'm really sorry to hear that. I'm sorry that you've suffered too. This wasteland can be such a horrible place. But-But you and i. We're both still here, right ? We have to go on. For them." Jun told him, hesitantly raising his hand and gripping Nate's shoulder.

Nate took a moment to really feel the impact of Jun's words. And in that moment another genuine smile appeared on his face. "Yeah. Yeah, we do..." Nate paused and thought about his next words, before he finally cleared his throat and asked, "I...Your son. What was his name ?"

Jun took a deep breath and told him. "Kyle. My son's name was...Kyle." Clearing his throat, Jun now asked Nate the same, "What was your Wife's name ?"

Nate broke eye-contact and looked down the road, and then answered. "Her name was Nora."

"Well...you and me. Nate. We'll both go on, and we'll keep living. For Kyle and for Nora. And for Marcy, and for Shaun." Jun said

Nate nodded understandingly. "Yes, we will."

"Well, um. It was nice to have this conversation with you, Nate. I guess i should just let you get on with whatever it is you're going to do next." Jun said, offering a hand.

Nate took it and shook Jun's hand. "Likewise Jun. I'll see you later on."

With that Jun went back inside the Washington's house and disappeared from sight.

...

As Nate and Codsworth were on their way down the road of Sanctuary Preston and Dogmeat darted over, and joined them in walking down the road, until they reached the bridge.

"Sorry, i meant to tell you before. I'd expect some hostility when you arrive there. I'll radio ahead to let them know, but they'll still likely to be jumpy, considering they were only attacked last night. They might assume you're one of them from a distance."

"Don't think i could blame them. Thanks for warning me Preston."

"Oh, and also...i forget to mention another thing. This one's really important for you to know, considering the time you came from. So, um. The currency everywhere in the Commonwealth these days, is in Bottlecaps. No-one accepts Dollars anymore." Preston informed him.

"Bottlecaps ? As in the caps on top of beer bottles or Nuka-Cola bottles ?"

"Those are the ones. Don't ask me why that's the way it is though, it's been that way since before i was born."

"Huh. Well, that's pretty interesting. Thanks again for telling me all of this man."

"Of course." Preston replied. He suddenly looked down at his feet. Something having caught his attention.

Nate felt something make contact with his shin guards a few times and looked down at the source. Dogmeat pawed at nosed at Nate's knee and gave an accompanying whine.

"Aw! Hey boy! Are you asking to come along ?"

Dogmeat gave a low woof and jumped up on his hind legs so that his front paws were on Nate's chest, and he proceeded to lick Nate's hand when he extended it to pat the Dog's head.

"I wanna keep you safe boy, ya understand ? So i need to ask Preston here if it's wise to take you along." Nate said to the sooky pup, as he looked up and over to Preston. "Is it ?" he asked with a suddenly blank expression.

"Well personally, i'd say it is, yeah. Dogmeat's been in many fights before Concord, he fought alongside us against a large group of Raiders before Concord, and he did most of the work that time for us, by dragging them off their feet and holding them down. And from what Mama Murphy's said about him, this boy's been all over the Commonwealth, apparently he's helped out tons of folk. Dogmeat's more than capable in a fight, whether it be in confined spaces or out in the open. I gotta be honest with ya Nate, this dog right here, is the best dog in the whole Commonwealth. So i'm certain he'll be fine out there, especially if he's with you."

Nate looked down at the dog, whom was looking back at him with the cutest little 'Puppy Eyes' ever, and smiled.

"C'mon pal, lets go."

* * *

The trio took about forty-five minutes to arrive at Tenpines Bluff after they had left Sanctuary. Which was mainly due to them hoping to make a quick shortcut through a flooded quarry just outside of Concord, called Thicket Excavations.

They'd stopped there when they found a single man looking for help. A man by the name of Sully Mathis. He'd requested their help with getting the quarry emptied of all the water that currently filled it, which apparently could only be done by diving underwater and turning three different underwater valves, so that he could start the water pump and start draining the quarry.

Nate didn't have a spare change of clothes and neither did Sully, and Nate wasn't interested in getting his only clothes soaked. And of course neither Codsworth or Dogmeat could complete the task for the man, so that made the situation difficult.

What the group didn't expect however, was the sudden emergence of two giant, quickly approaching crab-like creatures. Nate quickly deduced that based on their appearance, that they were those 'Mirelurks' Preston had told him about. And he had to admit, that even despite Preston telling him where the weak spot of the creatures was found, it was still a helluva tough fight for them. Surprisingly, so far he hadn't felt like he needed the aid of his new 'V.A.T.S' he'd got in the Vault, but he knew the time would surely come sooner or later.

After the fight, Nate told Sully that he couldn't help him and that they would be leaving, but that one day he'd come back to try and help him out then. Sully however, was clearly pissed off. He told the three of them to 'Go to Hell then!' and that 'They'd regret this!'. Nate just ignored the man and inspected his Pip-Boy map to see how far the settlement was from here. Marking the quarry down on his map, so that one day he could prove true to his word and help the man.

...

Upon arrival at Tenpines Bluff the trio were startled by a bruised man running over to them with a shotgun pointed at them.

" **WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE?! WELL ?!** " A clearly, very angry man yelled at them.

Nate raised his hands up and stayed where he was. "Whoa, easy pal. We're with the Minutemen. You radioed my friend Preston this morning asking for help. He radioed you not long ago to let you know we were coming. We loaded up and came as quick as we could."

"Minutemen!? **WELL YOU TOOK YOUR GOD DAMNED FUCKING TIME, DIDN'T YOU !?** " He yelled at them

Nate took a look at the man. He had short brown hair and a small moustache with a bit of stubble. He has covered in bruises and seemed to be leaning to one side.

"We're really sorry, sir. We're all new to the Minutemen and kinda new to this whole area. There were a few obstacles in our path too. Mirelurks and such. We're here now though. So please, tell us what you need us to do and just point us in the direction." Nate replied, calmly answering the man.

...

The man lowered his Shotgun and pointed a finger towards the large satellite in the distance. "That place up there is USAF Satellite Station Olivia. Just yesterday, a group of atleast ten or eleven Raiders, who'd apparently moved in there recently, showed up. Last night they surrounded the three of us when we were having a roast, we didn't know they were in the area of course, so we thought we were fine. We were out in the open and the lot of them suddenly surrounded us on every side, and they were armed to the teeth."

The man got choked up and had scrunched his face up in anger. "Those shitbags demanded we pay tribute or we'd die. We refused, because we don't have anything to give them. So in response they beat the shit out of me, kidnapped my sister until i could pay them their damn 'tribute', and...you can see what they did to our friend who fought back..." The man said, motioning his head to one side. Nate looked over in the direction and noticed a freshly dug grave.

Nate closed his eyes. "Jesus...I am sorry for your loss, sir. Truly, i am."

The man became angrier and grunted out loud in frustration.

"Yeah, well...it all happened so fast. Not your fault. But you listen now! THOSE MONSTERS COULD BE FUCKING **RAPING** MY SISTER RIGHT NOW! DO YOU FUCKIN' GET THAT ?! So i need you to stop talking, and get up there, and save her! Look, you save her and you make sure all those Raiders suffer. Ya hear ?! **Every. Single. One.** Those Raiders all need to experience an agonizing death, do you understand me ?! You get her back here, and i swear to you, we'll support the Minutemen no matter what. I can reward you once you get back. Caps, ammo, whatever."

"No, no. Don't worry about a reward, Sir. We don't need it, you'll need it more. Now, before we head up there i need you to answer one or two quick questions, okay ? First one is, what were they armed with ? Melee weapons, automatic rifles, a mix ?" Nate asked

The man rubbed his head and recollected his thoughts. "Eh, They mostly all had some Combat Rifles and Shotguns, as well as some knifes and baseball bats. They had some metal armor on, looked real tough."

"Right. Good to know. Okay, next one. Do they have a leader at all, or did they all seem like the type who just make decisions as a group ?"

"Yeah, they have a leader. It was a woman. A woman with red hair, up in pigtails. She had black make-up smeared all around her eyes, and she wore some fancy black cage armor. I-I also noticed she had a huge ass Mini-Gun in her hands too. Her crew's armor is similar but seemed more rusty than hers."

"Okay, that's all i need to know. We're heading over there now, sir." Nate told him as he flashed him a comforting, yet brief smile, before turning and walking away.

"Thank you." the man shouted after them.

* * *

About 10 minutes later the trio had reached the satellite station. There were three Raiders up on a walkway ahead of them, dressed in some rusty full body armor, and just talking. "Codsworth." Nate whispered as he aimed his rifle up at the Raiders.

"Yes, Sir ?" Whispered Codsworth in response.

"If i don't manage to kill all three in quick succession, then i'm gonna need you to speed over there and roast 'em. They might have walkie talkies to communicate with their friends inside the building. We can't take that risk, ya understand ?"

"Indeed, Sir. Ready when you are."

Nate lined up his shot on the first Raider's head and held his breath.

 _Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!_

"Heh-heh, still got it!" Nate muttered to himself, proud of getting three clean headshots in a row.

 ** _*Thud!*_**

"What the shit ?!" A voice called out from really close by.

"What the what ?!" Nate asked, in confusion. It was then, that he noticed one of the bodies had tumbled over the railings and hit the ground. Making the thud noise he'd heard.

A single Raider appeared from the left side, from the other side of the building.

Suddenly looking behind him, the lone Raider noticed Nate and raised his rifle.

" **YOU ASSH** - _Pfft!_

"Shut up." Nate told the fresh, new corpse as it crumpled to the ground.

"Jolly-good show, Sir!"

"That, was just the warm-up. The rest are gonna be inside. You ready to kill the rest of these troublesome Raiders ?" Nate asked, curling the side of his lip into a smirk.

"You needn't even ask Sir! Those bloody psychotic gits signed their death certificates the moment they captured that poor woman! Oh, uh, if you'll pardon my french Sir."

Nate briefly smirked and exhaled through his nose, and after a mini pep-talk, they moved inside the station.

According to Codsworth there was no-one in the room directly below, even still, Nate kept his M16 close and moved on with caution.

Thankfully, the room was empty when they got down there.

When they got to the end of the room they found a small window ahead of them, and two routes. A small metal walkway in the corner to the left. A presumably long tunnel to the right. Nate chose the left when he thought he heard voices coming from the right.

Stepping out onto the metal walkway Nate noticed a room to the right and made a bee-line for it.

 ***CLANG!***

"Oh, come the fuck on!" Nate whispered in an very annoyed tone.

Nate looked down and noticed a small tin can rolling around in the corner of the floor below.

" **HEY! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ?!** " A Raider yelled out, instantly putting Nate in panic mode.

"Quick. In here!" Nate hurriedly ordered to his pals, leading them into what was revealed to be the bathroom of the building.

"Go check what or who made that noise! And you all know what to do!" another voice ordered, in a lower tone than the other they'd heard.

Nate quickly made a quick decision, quietly asking Codsworth to go into his low power setting and hide in one of the stalls along with Dogmeat, to ensure that no passing Raider would hear the noise Codsworth's propulsion jet made and discover them.

That's when Nate realised just how quiet everything had suddenly gotten. The Raiders, had all become quiet. Too quiet. Everything was far too silent for Nate's liking.

One thing Nate really didn't like, was how quiet it'd become. He expected to hear loud voices shouting and noisy footsteps to tell him where they all were. Instead, only complete and utter silence.

So whilst the Raiders silently searched the area, Nate started to get a plan of action in place formed in his mind. He searched the stalls for any small item he could throw to direct their attention away from his location, or hell, even just to get them spooked and get them talking again so that he could find them before they found him and his buddies. But there was nothing of any real use!

"Crap. I hate it when it's this quiet. These punks are no Dragoon Soldiers, but hell, i didn't expect to come in here and have no damn idea where anyone is. Shit. I need to check outside the door, incase one of them makes us. I just need a peek." Nate thought to himself.

Unsheathing his Knife, Nate carefully stepped closer to the doorway. He calmly pressed himself up against the wall and focused on what he _could_ hear. And fortunately, he could hear something out there. What he heard was slow, calm footsteps walking along the metal walkway. Footsteps, that faintly sounded like they were getting closer to his position.

"Oh man, please don't be ferals again..." Nate heard a faint voice murmur from lower below.

"Come to daddy, bitch." Nate thought to himself.

The footsteps from the walkway grew louder and louder, and closer and closer, until soon Nate would get the chance to find out who was closing the distance on him.

" **OH MAN, FUCK THIS SILENT BULLSHIT, I REALLY WANT SOMETHING TO HAPPEN! MAN, I'M ALL READY FOR A FIGHT JUST NOW! HAHAH! C'MON!** " Yelled a man, who by how close his voice was, revealed he was just outside the room Nate was in, funnily enough. Which meant that Nate could now atleast pinpoint where **one** of them was right now. Taking down one would be a start.

" **OH SHUT THE FUCK UP, _'MASTER'_! WE DO THE WHOLE SILENT THING FOR A DAMN REASON! AND YOU WANTIN' TO FIGHT, OR FUCK EVERYTHING IS HOW YOU LOST SOME OF YOUR DAMN TOES AND FINGERS! NOW KEEP YER MOUTH SHUT!** " Came the response from one of his comrades downstairs, saying the word 'Master' in a mocking tone.

" **I KEEP TELLING YOU FUCKERS TO STOP CALLING ME 'MASTER'. IT WAS ONE TIME! ONE DAMN TIME!** "

" **IT WAS MORE THAN ONE TIME, BATOR. AND YOU KNOW IT!** "

 **"YEAH, BATOR. YOU KNOW WHY WE CALL YOU 'MASTER'. IT'S BECAUSE ALL YOU DO IS JACK-OFF UNTIL WE CAPTURE SOME RANDOM BITCH! THAT'S THE ONLY TIME YOU DECIDE TO BE USEFUL AND TEACH THEM BITCHES A LESSON! HAH-HAH-HAH! NOW GET BACK TO SEARCHING!** " a female raider joined in. Ending the shouting match.

Nate had heard enough. This asshole already sounded like a truly sinister creature. Nate knew his best opportunity to sneak attack this guy would be right now. So he looked out into the hallway. The guy had his back to Nate. So acting quickly, he sprang out into the hallway and plunged the tip of his blade through the back of the asshole's neck and covered his mouth. "Nighty night." Nate whispered into the ear of the now blood gurgling raider.

Nate yanked out his knife and grabbed the body before it could hit the floor. He dragged it back into the bathroom with him. Hiding the corpse in one of the stalls, and then wiping the fresh blood off of his blade on the clothes of the now dead man. This one didn't have the rusty armor like the three outside. Strange.

"Hmm. Now how do i play the rest of this ? How many more are there ?" Nate asked himself in his head again.

"Fuck it... **SPREAD OUT! I WANNA FIND OUT WHAT'S OUT HERE! NO MORE SILENCE, IF ANYTHING _IS_ OUT THERE, IT'S OURS NOW AND I WANT IT TO KNOW!** " A female voice called out from not too far away.

Nate unstrapped his back-pack and dumped it down next to Codsworth and pulled his M16 up. Preparing himself for a shit-show to potentially start. He moved to leave the room for a hopefully successful look at where each Raider was standing right now. Because he needed some advantage over these punks.

Only, he didn't get more than half his foot out the door before he heard the sound of approaching footsteps ascending up the walkway, and coming his way. Instinctively, he dodged back behind cover.

" **HEY! THAT BITCH IS MAKING A RUN FOR IT!** " one of the Raiders announced to everyone.

" **WELL DON'T JUST STAND THERE! GET HER!** "

The sound of a loud _**'clonk'**_ was heard, followed immediately by a muffled, but noticeably girly sounding grunt. The footsteps abruptly come to a stop, and then there was a very loud thud on the floor of the walkway, the vibration from the walkway floor rang out loud. Nate could hear this woman let out a muffled moan of pain, and then she let out a...whimpering sound.

"Shit! That's gotta be the girl i'm here to save! She's trying to escape and just caught their attention! Fuck! Fuck, but i've gotta play this safe! They can all see her right now, right ? And i can't save her if i'm full of bullets or pinned down!"

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a man yell out, "C'mere bitch!" in a menacing laughing tone, sounding like he was quickly approaching her, because there were another set of footsteps ascending the walkway now. "Up ya' come, miss piggy!"

The next thing Nate heard was a struggle and a few grunts. "What do i do, there has to be something! C'mon Nate! Quickly! Think!"

Again, Nate got distracted from his thoughts by the inclusion of another voice. - "Heheh, lookie here boys, Krid seems to be having some trouble holding down the fat bitch. Hahah! Different having resistance now, ain't it Krid ?"

Okay. Now Nate knew for sure they'd all be watching that guy try and subdue the girl. Could he surprise attack them ? He had armor-piercing bullets loaded, sure, but he didn't know if the raiders would all be in one spot. So reluctantly, he chose to wait it out just a little longer. Wait for the right moment.

"Hey! Would you assholes quit watching me and gimme a goddamn hand!" 'Krid' as they'd called him, yelled down at his buddies.

"If I don't act soon they'll take her back to wherever she was and they might punish her for escaping! And Preston said most raiders tend to rape their captives, and if i let them take her back...No. Fuck that, i won't let that happen! I can handle these fucks! I've handled way worse, with even worse odds! C'mon motherfucker!" Nate yelled at himself in his head.

With that thought Nate ran over to the stalls and brought Codsworth back out of his low power setting.

"Sir ?" Codsworth asked in a whispered tone as he sprang back up in life.

"Wait for my go." Nate quietly told him.

"Very good, sir."

When he turned to head back over to the doorway he heard a couple more grunts coming from the other side of the wall. Which meant the raider was evidently having trouble trying to subdue the woman. Which was actually rather impressive, on her part.

Nate heard a loud muffled scream out and then felt a loud slam against the other side of the wall. He crouched down next to the doorway and double-checked his M16.

"Now! Move, soldier!" Nate told himself.

He was about to leave the room and end that raider, but he was startled when a figure suddenly fell into view, slamming hard against the floor in the hallway right outside the door.

It was a woman, the woman he'd come to save.

The very first thing that Nate noticed about the woman, was that, despite only seeing her upper torso, he could tell that she was completely topless. She had a larger and curvier form than most women had from before the nukes fell. Her hair was quite long, and it was uncombed and really messy, aswell as greasy, and it was sticking out all over the place. Despite the condition of her hair it was a colourful brown in colour. The raiders must've been putting her through hell for it to look that way.

Speaking of these raiders, the one attempting to subdue her slammed his boot down on her back, just below her shoulders, and then forced her back down again when she tried pushing herself back up on her feet.

The woman was looking directly ahead of her, eyes darting around the area ahead, desperately searching for anything to help her escape, or any exit, remaining completely oblivious to Nate's presence just to her right. Not like she had any reason to look, or run his way though.

Nate noticed that her arms were pretty badly bruised and that they were wriggling about furiously behind her back, but no matter how much she wriggled them about her hands stayed in place. Which told Nate that her wrists must've been taped together tightly behind her back. Made sense to him, typical hostage situations usually meant taping or tying hands and feet together after all.

Which of course explained the muffled screams and grunts she'd made. They'd have put tape over her mouth too.

The dick-bag raider removed his boot and chuckled away.

Given the opportunity now, she started using her legs, which she spread out by her sides, like a frog, to wriggle herself forwards in another desperate attempt to escape. Pushing herself forward a few inches at a time across the cold concrete floor. That obviously meant that she'd managed to somehow cut the tape around her ankles and free them. Which also explained how she'd managed to speed over here as quickly as she did.

She'd managed to successfully wriggle herself forward a few more inches, just enough to give Nate a view of the rest of her body.

Nate found himself even more disgusted by these raiders now!

This poor woman wasn't just stripped topless. No. She had been stripped completely naked! If all of that wasn't already bad enough, Nate noticed that her bare ass cheeks were a bright shade of red, and Nate didn't even want to try and imagine how they got that way.

'Krid' gave up on trying to subdue her just by holding her down now, and instead decided to grab her by her ankles and drag her away. When he tried it, she instantly kicked her feet about in panic, until he got a hold of both her feet and held them tightly together.

That's when the raider muttered something that made Nate feel even more sick to his stomach. - "Quit squirming sweetie! I don't care what the boss said! You keep fighting and i'll just spread yer legs an' stick it in ya' here an' now! Either you can get raped here just now or you can go back in your cupboard and we can _talk_ some more ? Your choice!"

The girl screamed and cried out as loud as she could underneath her tape and jerked her body around in every direction violently. Desperate to escape this horrible place. She looked at the doorway next to her and jerked her body over to that way. She managed to successfully grab the edge of the doorway with her chin, and held onto it tight.

"Alrighty then! Rape it is! Heh-Heh, Finally! Been waiting too long for this! But i think we should go find us somewhere more secluded, don't you agree ?" The raider whispered to her in an excited tone, following up with another menacing cackle.

She forced her eyes shut as tears began to fill her eyes and roll down her cheeks. She eventually looked up, likely hoping for some secret exit or something. Instead, she noticed Nate crouched there with his wide-eyed expression.

Now Nate could see the look on her face, and goddamn-it...every single raider in here was gonna die for what they'd done to her! She had a black eye, a bruised cheek, and the area around her eyes were already puffy and slightly pink. So it was clear that she'd been crying earlier aswell. Poor thing.

The two locked eyes for just a few seconds. One side of her hair came down and covered most of her face, obscuring her view. But that didn't stop Nate seeing all the emotion showing on her face. Her eyes at first showed the shock and fear in her, but then, through the tears, Nate could see that those eyes were pleading now.

Their interaction didn't last long however, as a hand appeared over her head and grabbed a handful of her hair. He yanked her back out of view, and her muffled screams and sobs of terror filled the quiet hallway.

But Nate was out after her immediately, exhaling like a bull, with his rifle already trained on the Raiders head.

"What the **FUCK**!?" The raider yelled in surprise, caught completely off-guard by Nate's sudden appearance.

Nate started to squeeze the trigger when he was stopped by the sudden sound of shouting from behind him. Which put him in a tough position now.

" **HEY! HEY, GUYS! SOME ASSHOLE _IS_ IN HERE WITH US!** "

Everyone stayed still, and laughter started to fill the empty hallway. That guy that'd beaten the poor girl to the ground and was now holding her spoke directly to Nate, telling him "Ooh, a Vaulty! Well, you just walked into the wrong nest, buddy. Heh-heh-heh!"

"That so ?" Nate replied, sounding confident and unafraid. Still keeping his rifle up incase any of them tried anything, and rotating his feet around slowly so he could make a turn faster.

"Hah! Yeah, it is! You're a fuc-Ooh! Heey, you got some nice weaponry there, Vaulty! Where'd you get that baby from ? You some kinda high and fancy, rich asshole ? Or you trying to me a Merc or somethin' ?" He asked, admiring Nate's M16. But then he glanced down at the girl, who was on her knees right now, her hair still in his grip. He thought for a moment and then looked back over at Nate, and he started to chuckle away again. "Oh-ho-ho-ho! Hold on, are-are you here for this one ? Yeah, you are here for her...ain't ya' ?"

A raider behind Nate chimed in, "Aw! You want the girl ? Drop the rifle, lets talk."

But Nate was smart enough to know that if he put his rifle down and let them get close enough then he'd be dead...or worse.

"We're already talking. And yeah. Matter of fact i am here for her." Nate responded, not aiming away from the raider. Knowing Codsworth would have his back covered.

"Give us...Hmm...say, 350 caps, and uh...that gun you're holding. Clothes for her are gonna cost extra too. Give us all that, and she's yours."

"I'm a little short right now. And the gun ain't for sale. Lets negotiate." Nate replied quietly, in an almost uninterested tone.

"No negotiations buddy. And if you ain't got the amount, well then coming here was a big mistake buddy. Don't think we can just let you waltz outta here now that you seen the place. Hey, but don't you worry though, i'll take good care of that rifle of yours..." The raider said in a mocking tone before he pulled out a pistol.

Nate took a quick glance back at the bathroom door from the corner of his eye, and quickly turned heel and rolled-forward back into the bathroom, barely avoiding gunfire.

He steadied himself and turned back around. He could hear the raider that had the girl in his grip already dragging her back across the same walkway with him. Knowing that pricks intentions, Nate had to get to work on lowering the number of raiders in here. He bent his upper half to the side, of the room and expertly killed the approaching raider from the opposite direction with a headshot.

A third raider ran into view from that same direction and didn't have any time to react before he received a bullet in the neck.

"Codsworth. Cover the area ahead of me. If anyone comes our way, then you roast them. Got it ?"

"Loud and clear, Sir!" Codsworth replied in a louder tone than expected, his voice mimicking that of a Mister Gutsy, adding more to the act by saluting his master with his pincer arm.

Taking a quick peek out the door onto the walkway the prick had retreated across, Nate saw a set of double doors down to the left slam shut and noticed some movement underneath the walkway in the big room ahead. He could see atleast three or four bodies moving about, using old generators as cover.

Gunfire suddenly peppered the wall Nate hid behind.

Nate had been in this position so many times before now. He could probably get lucky shots on them when one was reloading or changing cover, but he'd already come up with a better plan that should work out much better. So he blind-fired his M16 into the room to keep the raiders below distracted.

The raiders all started firing back, and Nate put his plan into action. He led Codsworth and Dogmeat back towards the room they'd been in after first coming into the building as quickly as he could. Now this time Nate led his companions down the tunnel to the right. Following it down they came across an open doorway and Nate looked through the doorway. He saw one or two more raiders than he'd expected to see, and two of them were wearing that rusty body armor other raiders had been wearing.

His rounds should pierce their armor anyway, and if not then headshots would have to do. Ah, if only he had grenades on him...

Nate stopped and thought back to the Vault, when he got the Pip-Boy on his wrist. It had slowed down time for him. He hadn't felt like he'd needed it at any point so far since he left the Vault. Not even against that Deathclaw, slowed down time wouldn't have helped against that thing in his mind. Might've against those Mirelurks though...

"Why have a superpower if you aren't gonna use it, right ?" He thought to himself.

Taking aim, Nate recalled what it required to activate his 'V.A.T.S', and did exactly as he remembered. Time slowed down again for the first time in a while. Something was different this time though. All of the raiders in view had a green outline around their bodies. That was definetly going to be a help for keeping track of targets in tight spots, or out in the open.

He looked at the closest raider to his position. This raider's torso suddenly glowed a bright green colour, the same shade of green as his Pip-Boy screen. There were now small boxes displayed over each of the raider's limbs, and even his weapon.

The boxes each described what it was targeting and more importantly, each read a percentage out of one hundred. The raider's weapon for instance, read: 0%, while the rest of his limbs read: 90%, except for the raider's head, which read: 95%

Nate looked over at another raider, one who was half covered by an old generator, her torso and head read: 40%, her left arm read: 90%, and her leg read: 55%.

"Where were these when i was in Anchorage ?" Nate thought.

The slight breeze in the area caused Nate to blink once. He heard a 'dink' noise and noticed a red box around the raider's left arm. He was confused at this, so blinked again. Same result.

"Lock on, huh ? Sweet." Nate thought as he realised. Hell, he had to applaud Mr. House and RobCo for making this beauty.

Nate found he could still look between all the raiders despite locking onto the raider's arm. He blinked at two other raiders closest to him. Specifically their heads. He locked onto a fourth raider, specifically onto this one's leg. Nate thought he'd locked his targets in to his satisfaction.

Without fully understanding what was happening Nate noticed how the green outlines and percentage boxes simply all disappeared again, and he now discovered that his torso and more importantly, his arms had moved position...with him feeling like he wasn't the one moving them. It was like they were being controlled **_for_ ** him.

His arms raised the rifle and moved into the aiming position, but his trigger finger wasn't already squeezing the trigger. He still had control over that action! So he wasted no time and just pulled the trigger, twice. Severing the first raiders arm, and splattering blood all across the generator. Instantly after the second shot was fired, Nate's arms turned to aim at the second raider in the blink of an eye. So, like before, Nate pulls the trigger, spraying the second raiders brains all across the floor.

His arms instantly turned to aim at the third raider, again! This experience was extraordinary!

When the third raider dropped to the floor, the slowed down vision suddenly reverted back to normal. Nate was slightly confused at first, but made sure to find cover again before he was shot by the other raiders still alive in the room.

"What the fuc-He's moved over there now!" One of them shouted, pointing Nate out to the others.

Nate took a risky glance around the corner and activated his V.A.T.S again. Killing two more raiders with headshots.

He cautiously entered the room and hid himself underneath the ramp of the walkway. Dogmeat was at his feet and ready to sprint out at any fool who got close enough.

Codsworth meanwhile, wasn't.

"Oh god...he better not jump out and say some shit like 'peekaboo'. Ey Dogmeat ?" Nate muttered to the pup, who looked up and gave a quiet woof in response.

Staying in their spot, Nate and Dogmeat remained hidden even when two raiders appeared out of a room Nate hadn't even been aware of, off to his left, close to the ramp, and they ascended up the walkway.

They were headed in the direction of the bathroom where Nate had first hidden when..."Peekaboo!" Codsworth yelled.

"Oh god damn it!" Nate thought, lowering his head with a little chuckle.

Looking back up, Nate saw Codsworth quickly extending his Saw-blade arm towards the closer Raider, and to both Nate, and the raiders surprise, Codsworth's Saw-blade itself separated from the end of his arm and flew straight into the unsuspecting raider's head. Then, tilting his dome to about 45 degrees and powering up his thruster, Codsworth shot forward and body-slammed the second raider backwards, knocking him off his feet! He finished him by simply cooking him with his flamer. "Flame on ?" He quipped.

Nate was suddenly at a loss for words. That...was unexpected! But Nate loved the new technique Codsworth had just displayed!

Returning to Nate's position, Codsworth hovered right next to him and in a normal tone, told him "Room secure, Sir."

"That's good." Nate replied.

"Oh, bother." Codsworth randomly said.

"More of them ? Where ?" Nate inquired

"Erm, yes. I'm reading about ten or more life-signs in the next room, Sir."

"We can take 'em."

" **BEAR!** Go fuck 'em up, big man!" A female voice shouted from behind the double doors.

"Oh. Am i getting the 'honour' of fighting their best fighter." Nate wondered, moving to the centre of the room.

After a few tense minutes of just sheer quiet and expecting an attack at any moment, Codsworth tapped Nate's shoulder and points out which direction this 'Bear' is coming from. Codsworth was a huge advantage over these raiders right now.

Nate quickly debates in his mind on how to finish this raider. The knife, or the gun ?

'Bear' slowly crept closer to Nate's position after having observed them for a bit from a secret entrance into the room behind the double doors. 'Bear' revealed himself and found Nate already facing him.

Surprised, he quickly shrugs the surprise off and takes a swing at Nate, and then another, which Nate easily dodges. He notices 'Bear' is wearing armor like others, so punching won't help in beating this guy.

Before Bear could throw another punch Nate immediately responded by shooting Bear square in the chest, piercing straight through his armor. But oddly, to Nate's surprise, it didn't seem to affect Bear that much. He just stood there, grunting and growling a little and then moving to attack again.

Nate looked quite confused himself now, but he quickly shrugs it off and fills the large man with more lead, in many different sections of his chest too. Which at first still doesn't seem to have much of an affect. That was until Bear started to stumble back a couple steps, and appeared to let out his dying breath, before he toppled backwards, onto his back.

When inspecting Bear's corpse, Nate wondered if he should shoot him in the head, just to be sure. Considering how many bullets this guy had just tanked.

...

Bear was a giant of a man, standing at 6 feet tall. He was muscly as hell, opting for a custom, tan coloured, sleeveless version of the armor some of these raiders were utilizing. Probably to show off his arms. He had a long black, dirty beard reaching down to his chest, and long black hair going down just below his shoulders. His weapons of choice were a spiked, and blood-stained knuckle duster on each hand.

...

Thinking back on how he could've fought him with his knife and had a tougher fight as a result, which Nate did enjoy back in the war every now and then in his early days. He now thought to himself - "Damn. That felt anti-climatic. All that build-up before he showed his face aswell..."

"Err, Sir! Multiple hostiles advancing!" Codsworth alerted him.

The double door burst open and atleast ten or more raiders poured out with smiles on their faces that instantly faded. The lot of them raised their guns and started firing at Nate and his buddies the second they saw that their champion was dead at Nate's feet.

" **THEY KILLED BEAR! THOSE FUCKERS!** "

The three would be-rescuers retreated, and were quickly backed into the room next to ramp, having no choice but to slam the door shut behind them. As a result, they were completely surrounded now.

...

" **HA! HEY WE GOT YA NOW ASSHOLE!** " A Raider yelled as he unloaded another round of bullets in the direction of the intruders.

Codsworth, who had a few more dents and scrapes on his dome since first leaving Sanctuary, was hovering next to his master with Dogmeat. They'd underestimated the raiders numbers and their accompanying firepower greatly.

"Sir, i-i do hate to add more bad news to our current predicament, but my sensors indicate that we are completely surrounded. Worse still, i estimate that our odds of survival are only at 39.6 Percent!"

"Never tell me the odds, Codsworth!"

The shooting stopped, and the raiders started banging on the door like wild animals.

" **HEY! IF YOU COME OUT NOW, WE PROMISE TO NOT KILL YA SLOWLY! HAHAHA!** " A different Raider shouted from the other direction.

Nate heard some voices talking back and forth, and then the banging stopped. One of them spoke out in a much lower, and calmer tone. Sounding like they were crouched down on the opposite side of the door.

"Beating Bear was an helluva impressive thing you did, asshole! So, we talked about it and, well we'd be willing to make you a deal here. So listen up."

Nate cursed and listened anyway. "-Come quietly. Your buddies'll get a quick death, and we won't kill you. Promise. Just wanna see if we can make you see the benefits of being one of us instead. You already proven you're a hard ass. Besides, we need someone to take Bears spot as the group hardass now, thanks to you. So, hand over those fancy guns you've got and we'll take that as a sign of respect. We share everything with each other in this group, you see. This is really your only way out, So...do we got a Deal ?" a voice asked.

"Oh, yeah. Very tempting!" Nate yelled, sarcastically.

"This is the only chance you're getting buddy. I'd suggest ya take it. Otherwise, yer 'bot gets stripped for parts, and we strip the pooch alive for meat, and then we tie you up and cut you everywhere we can, for as long as we can. And that'd just be the start. So make the right choice, buddy. For you, and for them."

Nate thought of the best course of action. "Fine. I'm coming out."

"Sir, No!" Codsworth objected.

"Atta Boy! Put your guns down for now boys!" the raider exclaimed, looking at his buddies and laughing with them.

The door opened and out Nate walked. He stood there and had a good look at all the smirking raiders around him...and he smirked back.

* * *

 _On the other side of the room._

The leader of this Raider group sat on her makeshift throne. Well, she'd say it was a throne, but it was really only just a fancy red armchair atop some cinderblocks, with a couple decapitated heads on spikes on display behind it.

"C'mon boss! You know the guys can handle this one guy even _if_ he tries something. Even if the tough bastard did take out Bear and some of the others! Won't take more than five minutes, tops, for them to surround him and then capture or kill the prick. In the meantime you can let us finally start having some _real_ fun with this bitch!" Krid, one of the two who'd put the girl in her current state, told his leader.

The woman in charge raised an eyebrow and snickered at his words, remining him "You already _have_ had some fun with her, Krid! My dude, you and Bator went to town on her titties just a couple hours ago, remember ?"

Their hostage visibly shook at the reminder, while she tried to stay upright, as Krid had grazed her side with a shot from his pistol to stop her running again.

"Smackin' her ass and playin' with her tits is only fun for so long, boss. Naw, I'm talking about having some 'dick in pussy' type a' fun! C'mon boss, you've not let anyone fuck her yet. I mean, you usually let us fuck our captives as soon as we can, so what's different this time ? We both know that guy we beat up at their little house doesn't have the guns or the caps to free her!"

He huffed and continued, "-This girl has no way out of here and you know it. She's stuck with us now, for good! So c'mon boss, we gotta start breaking her in sooner or later!" Krid said with a sinister smile creeping onto his face, as he kneeled down and put his arm around the captive's neck and then lightly smacked one of her breasts. She was, again, visibly sickened by the act.

"I was trying something different this time, that's why i wasn't letting yous fuck her. I was thinking about keeping her here, and not letting yous rape her, to make him give us some of his crops every week under threat of her getting raped otherwise. But i got bored of that idea really quickly. Besides, you didn't bring all this up until just now, so that's why i haven't given you or the other my _blessing_ yet. Truth is, i really don't care if her pal pays up or not, because you're right. She's ours now! So, question is...with the others busy right now, d'you wanna go have the first proper taste of her ? You are first in line after all."

"Hell yeah I'll have the first taste of her!"

His leader grinned and said "Mmm, good. You know i do love watching you and the others teaching our captives who's boss, it mak-" The sudden eruption of gunfire on the other side of the doors halted their conversation. There were sounds of a revolver, a 10mm pistol, as well as many rifles suddenly firing in the room.

"-Damn...I like this guy! Hey, as desperate as you are for the puss-puss, i'm sure your little pecker can wait until this tough guy is dead or kneeling before me. Right ?" she asked, getting a nod in return.

The last of her crew had shut the double doors behind themselves, after they'd managed to corner the threat. Which meant the two of them couldn't tell who was winning.

They of course assumed their guys were winning, due to their numbers.

That was until, amongst the hailstorm of bullets, they heard the screams from their crew, hearing things like 'What the fuck is this guy made of!", and 'How is this guy still alive, we had him cornered!'

"Almost sounds like they're having trouble. What exactly are they fighting, huh ? a Deathclaw ? Hah-hah-hah!" The Leader asked sarcastically

"By the sounds of it, they might just be!" Krid replied, chuckling somewhat nervously.

"Hmm. Krid, be a good boy and go get me my baby, will you ?"

"Yeah. Yeah, sure thing boss."

Krid walked into a small armory next to the throne and came back with her 'baby' - A Mini-Gun. He hesitated for a second before he asked "You want me to go help them ?"

"Nah. There's more than enough of them out there to deal with whoever's out there."

And just as suddenly as it began the gunfire stopped.

"Finally. Ya see ? Took them long enough. Alright, you can go have fun with her now." she told Krid, pointing down at the girl.

Krid smiled and turned to walk away with the girl when his boss spoke again "But, only on one condition. Take the tape off of her mouth. I wanna hear her screaming and crying out for you to stop. Hah-hah-hah!"

Krid smiled again, wider than before this time. "With pleasure, Boss!" He enthusiastically replied as he started dragging the girl towards the storage room. The girl, who had her legs taped together again, jerked around and resisted as much as she possibly could, but soon stopped, due to the pain. Krid just grabbed her legs and hauled her up onto his shoulder.

The raider leader laid back and relaxed in her chair, waiting for her guys to come back with this troublemaker. Krid slammed the storage room doors shut behind him, but at the same time, the double doors to the generator room slammed open.

* * *

Nate kicked the doors open and walked in before he stopped on the spot, he was panting heavily and his upper torso was covered in blood...and the blood wasn't his. He had no expression on his face, just a silent, almost terrifying glare.

"And there he is!" She thought to herself, noticing the pile of bodies behind this one man, and the blood dripping from the walkway and covering the floor. He looked like one of those 'Demons' she'd seen in a Pre-War book once, before she'd burned it for warmth.

Nate had replaced his M16, and dual-wielded his LeMat Revolver and his 10mm pistol now.

The leader was indeed shocked at the sight at first, as her eyes widened. But she didn't let on for long. She wasn't about to show fear in front of this guy, even if her crew was all dead.

He didn't speak. She didn't speak. They just took in the sight of the other, for a few minutes. Sizing one another up.

To Nate, this woman, leading these raiders **really** stood out from the rest!

...

She, was a pale faced woman dressed in the same armor as some of the other raiders in here wore **(Which has the design of a slightly altered Cage Armor)**. Only her armor was black and appeared to be in pristine condition, and there was a chain wrapped around her chest and shoulders, making an ' **X** ' on her chest. There were the words **_'Ack-Ack'_ ** spray painted in red on various spots, and in various sizes on her armor, and there were dog heads spray painted in red on her shoulder pads.

Looks-wise, her face was filthy. She wore two little spiked dog collars around her neck. Her eyes and the area around them was covered in ton of black make-up, and her face was caked in dirt. Her dark red lipstick did little to cover up her stitched together cheeks, showing Nate that at one point before now her cheeks had been slit to give her a permanent smile. She had a few nose and ear piercings, although oddly she had parts of her ears missing...her hair was dyed red and up in a pony-tails at both sides of her head. And all-in-all ? She looked crazy as hell.

...

It was she, who broke the silence. "Well...Helloooo there sexy!" she said, sounding oddly turned on.

"Hello." Nate replied in a relaxed tone, looking completely calm. "-I'm Nate. And i do not appreciate you and your guys ruining people's lives."

The leader of these raiders was unflinching. She showed no fear whatsoever. Hell, she smiled at the sight before her eyes.

"What you've done out there is highly impressive...'Nate'. So impressive that i'm feeling so very turned on right now." she purred

Nate looked puzzled for a split second, his lips faintly moving when he asked himself 'What ?', before he regained his intimidating, expressionless glare.

"Let me introduce myself. I like to call myself, Ack-Ack. You wanna know why ? It's because, when i go out at night and hunt my prey, i like to howl like a mutt, to strike fear into their weak little hearts. It lets them know 'we're here, and we're coming for you!'. The last thing they'll ever hear, is the louder and louder growing noise i like to make...'ack-ack'!" She said, demonstrating the noise. "-By then they know. They know that's 'the sound of their death'...or something more...entertaining, coming for them. Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm!"

Nate calmly holstered his guns and discreetly moved his hands behind his back. He got distracted by the sudden sound of a girl's loud scream, which was followed by crying, and a man's voice laughing happily. It was coming from the room off in the corner.

'Ack-Ack' looked over in that direction too. Unlike Nate though, she just chuckled away to herself, like it was somehow funny. "That's just one of mine breaking our new 'pet' in. Ah, it's music to my ears!"

When she looked back she saw Nate's hand outstretched in front of him, and watched it pull back, that's when she noticed something rolling towards her. She looked down and as it got closer she saw-

GRENADE!

" **FUUCK!** " she yelled as she leapt from her throne and ran away as quickly as she could. Far too late to escape the blast though.

The explosion flung her into the wall at the end of the room, quite violently. She crumpled down against the floor, in too much pain to get back up immediately. She was still breathing though, if only barely. Weakly, she rolled over onto her front and tried to reach for a pistol laying on the floor a few feet away from her, which'd previously been attached to the back of her throne.

Nate was at her side in a second, and kicked the pistol further out of her reach.

"Oh no, no, no. You're done. I'll deal with you soon." Nate told her, before he violently kicked her in the face. Almost knocking her out cold.

Codsworth and Dogmeat re-joined him once more, appearing through the smoke the explosion had made.

"Excellent plan, Sir! Your military training and tactics have constantly proved exceptional here today!"

"Thanks, Codsworth. Couldn't let those skills go to waste, now could i ? But hey, listen up, i'm gonna need you and Dogmeat to keep an eye on this one for me, we're gonna have a talk with her sometime in the next ten minutes or so. If she tries anything and you two somehow can't subdue her, then just go ahead and roast her. Back soon."

...

Nate kicked the doors to the storage room open and found the only other raider still breathing, known as 'Krid', naked from the waist down, sat on the captive girl's lap, forcing her to sit at an angle. The disgusting bastard had one of her breasts tightly gripped in one hand, groping it in his oddly blood covered palm. Whilst he had a bunch of her hair gripped tightly in his other.

He was sat on top of her legs, and was likely causing them an amount of pain. He'd wrapped his own legs around her waist, and had his 'little pecker' positioned on top of her exposed breasts, fully erect now as he forced her upper body down. He used his grip on her hair and was forcibly pushing her face up against his, so close that their noses were touching. What was worse was that he was forcing his lips on hers, forcibly kissing her. He made it a rough kiss, and she was evidently extremely revolted, and desperately trying to pull her lips away from his, but he wouldn't let her. After all, he was still the stronger of the two.

Thankfully the forced kiss was interrupted and broken when the raider scumbag noticed Nate. The raider's face was full of perverted happiness. Whilst hers, was still full of both fear and disgust.

It wasn't possible for Nate to avoid noticing the girl's state right now. Her breathing was shaky, and her entire body was shaking. Her face, that was the saddest part. Bruised, absolutely soaked in tears, and mixed with so many emotions.

 **Nate took in the sight before his eyes...and he saw red!**

He charged over the them, and grabbed Krid by _his_ neck - giving him a taste of his own medicine.

Nate yanked him backwards, off of her and threw him across the room, away from her.

And...Oh Boy, was Krid in for a world of pain now!

Nate pulled out his Bowie Knife and quickly jabbed the end of the handle into one of Krid's eyes.

"Agh! You fucking bitch!" he yelled out, closing his eye in agony. Nate didn't fuck around. He head-butted him and quickly followed that up with a hard, and very precise punch to Krid's Adams apple.

The punch left him in a violent choking fit on his back. Thus, giving Nate exactly the opportunity he needed. And he. Did. Not. Waste it.

In the next few minutes Nate hurt him in many, many different ways, and all whilst the girl watched. He started by driving the blade of his Bowie Knife deep into both of Krid's shoulders, one at time of course, twisting the blade around whilst it was impaled in his skin. The scummy raider tried to knee Nate in the side, but Nate acted quickly, switched hands over and caught his leg. He snapped Krid's ankle and then sliced open the back of both of Krid's ankles. He took his time to snap each and every one of Krid's fingers, and then, to finish, he lightly slit Krid's forehead open. Nothing too bad. Just enough so that the blood would dribble down over his eyes.

Krid lay on his back coughing, beaten and unable to move. By this point the girl had sat herself up against the wall next to where she had been forced to sit by Krid. She found relief and much enjoyment in watching all that Nate had just done. And then came the satisfying part, to Nate atleast.

Nate kneeled down next to Krid's head, a small smirk on his face, and he spoke in a low tone, and said to him, "Oh. Now, hey there. How are you doing down there ? Don't look so grumpy, we've only just begun here, it'll get more...'fun', _i assure you_."

Unwilling to admit defeat to a mere 'Vaulty' and let him feel like he'd won, even though he already had. So, Krid chose to spit in Nate's face.

Nate however, just chuckled, and wiped his face clean. Then he muttered the words "Alright then."

He looked over to the girl. She was curled up, using her legs and arms to cover her privates up, but smiling slightly at the sight. She had a bleeding shoulder and a bleeding forearm. He caught her attention and asked for her to hold out her hands so he could cut the tape, and waited for her to offer hers out to him. When she eventually did, he cut the duct tape off where it connected her hands, and her feet together, and he helped her remove the rest of the tape from her body.

She had not spoken to him yet. He understood why though. It wasn't anything he'd done, it was what these raiders had done.

So instead of trying to get her to speak he held his knife out flat in his palm, and spoke to her again. "See shit-stain Magee over there ? He's not getting back up anytime soon, and he ain't fighting back. Please, take my big-ass knife here, and use it to do whatever you want to him. Want to make him unrecognisable ? Or just stab him over and over in his little pee-pee ? Then please, be my guest."

Nate looked at her face while he waited for her to look up and take the knife from his hand. He looked at her black eye and her mostly bruised face, covered partially by her long, greasy hair, and he knew she wouldn't turn this down.

The girl grabbed his knife and shuffled over to Krid slowly, clearly in pain.

"Oh c'mon darlin', don't tell me all the time we had with each other wasn't fun! You wanted attention, and i gave you it! Was that not good enough ?" he asked her, grinning slightly now as she got closer to him.

She slumped herself down between his legs and sat still for a moment.

"Hey, gonna suck me off now, huh ? C'mon then sweetheart. It's about time." Krid said, as he laughed as loud as he could.

Nate watched as she used her good arm to suddenly plunge the knife down into Krid. Though not seeing where she'd stabbed him, as her back covered his view, but he had a pretty good idea.

Krid began to scream out in pain, and he soon begged for her to stop. But both him and Nate knew that she wouldn't stop until she was satisfied.

Meanwhile, Nate chose to explore the other side of the room, with the intention of finding her some clothes to wear and whatever else he could find to help her.

As he searched the space, he listened to the somewhat relaxing sounds of his knife stabbing into, and being pulled out a rapists body, accompanied by his screams of utter pain, and her angry grunts. Both synchronized with the stabbing sounds.

Nate finally stumbled upon a load of stacked up cardboard boxes, varying in size, on a counter top. He opened a couple up, finding ammo in some, small firearms in others, Stimpak and chems in a few boxes in the corner and a load of Caps in most others. He found a large box containing a large selection of clothes inside, and started looking through them. There seemed to be a large enough combination of different clothes in there for her to wear.

But something else caught his eye. There was a box on the floor, all by itself, with it's lid slightly open. Curiosity got the better of Nate in the end, and so, he knelt down and opened it.

Looking inside, he saw an old, slightly damaged Camera inside, sat on top of three envelopes. Nate somewhat hesitantly pulled out the camera and the envelopes, intent on inspecting them.

The camera was nothing special, but all of the envelopes were about half-full. There were words written on the front of each envelope. One read: **_Tenpines Bluff_**. Another read: _**Abernathy Farm**_. The final read: **_Outpost Zimonja_**.

Nate opened the 'Outpost Zimonja' one first. Inside were pictures. They were pictures of a small shack built around a tall radio tower, next to a destroyed highway.

A second picture showed a few people stood around the shack. These pictures seemed to have been taken from a distance. Another picture showed a large shadowy figure next to the shack, carrying a large weapon on his shoulder...a Fat Man perhaps ? And could he be wearing Power Armor ? Too shadowy to tell.

"Where is this place then ?" He thought to himself. The next picture he found was, would you believe, a map showing the co-ordinates of the location.

"Fuck. This place isn't that far from Tenpines Bluff...Maybe only...twenty minutes walk from here ? That's very worrying..." Nate muttered to himself.

He looked into Tenpines Bluff envelope next. Same as the other, more pictures. But _these_ pictures were...they were absolutely sickening. The pictures were of a man's body, torso riddled with bullets, and his face beaten so much that it was virtually unrecognizable. The other pictures in the envelope were from a distance, showing a man on the ground being beaten by three people surrounding him, and the next three were of him unconscious on his back, with his face completely black and blue.

 _This_ is what they did to those innocent people...

After what felt like forever to Nate, the screams of that scumbag finally stopped suddenly, bringing Nate out of his thoughts.

The stabbing sounds continued though. Good! Best let her get it all outta her system, god knows she needs it after what they put her through.

Nate continued looking through the pictures and ended up coming across a disgusting set of seven pictures. These pictures were of 'Her', the girl Nate came here to rescue. The seven or so pictures showed her time here. From being fully clothed and having no bruises, with just her hands tied together with rope...to being completely naked and bound, on her knees, tape consuming her hands and feet.

Something Nate noticed, was that the same two raiders were in every photo. As the pictures progressed, it showed them simply laying hands on her shoulders, to them putting their hands all over her body, in more intimate, private places, and in a few different positions, along with her having more and more bruises in each. And what pissed Nate off more than anything, was that the disgusting scumbags were smiling and looked so happy in each picture.

"Disgusting, evil bastards. Good riddance!" Nate said as he put the pictures back in the envelope.

The only envelope left was the 'Abernathy Farm' envelope. Nate wasn't sure he wanted to look inside, but then he thought that if there were more raiders there, or people in need, then it was probably for the best that he knew.

Nate noticed that the stabbing sounds had come to a stop now. She must finally be satisfied with her work.

Looking inside the envelope, first thing he found was an aged, dusty silver locket. Accompanied by some more pictures.

"Alright, what disgusting images am i about to see now ?" Nate thought to himself.

He opened the envelope and..."Oh. Oh, Jesus motherfucking Christ, you motherfucking monsters!" Nate yelled.

Inside were pictures of another girl, a girl who looked no more than twenty years old. And this girl...this poor girl...was laying on her back in a large pool of blood, clearly in severe pain based on the scrunched up face she was making, and she too was completely naked... **with a goddamned** **bullet wound** **in her side!**

"They shot a innocent girl, stripped her completely naked, **took pictures** of her as she lay there bleeding out, and then left her to die ?! Holy fucking fuck, that's evil!" Nate thought to himself.

He shoved the silver locket in his pocket, believing he could use it to honour the girl whenever he killed raiders in future, he also took the camera and the box of clothes with him.

When he walked back over to the girl, she was just sitting there now, slowing her breathing down, with her back to the fresh corpse, which was a bloody mess and completely unrecognizable. Nate put the box down behind her and let her know.

"I found a box of some clothes for you. They might not all match, or be your style, but everything in there should fit. I'll just, uh, leave you to it." He said, turning to leave the room.

"Hey, wait mister." she said in a lower voice.

Nate stopped on the spot, waiting for her to speak up again.

She took a few moments to speak again and, staying where she was, she looked over her shoulder, and she said "I-I don't know who you are, or why you came here. But thank you for saving me from him, and the rest of those assholes."

"I'm just a guy who hates people like this, and has a lot of ammo."

"Why, uh, why exactly did you come here ? You a scavver ?"

"No. Your brother called the Minutemen for help as soon as he could, and i came here with my companions to get you out. Rest is history." Nate answered her.

"My brother ?! He's-He's still alive ?! Oh, thank god!" She said in relief, "-Look, i don't know how you managed it, but you did a amazing thing, managing to kill all those assholes just to get to me."

"Once i was in here i hated the thought of leaving you to a fate with _them_ a second longer."

"I'm lucky you got here when you did. You saw what this-" She said, spitting on Krid's corpse once or twice before resuming, "-sack of shit was doing to me and what he was gonna do to me. A few minutes later and..." She trailed off.

Nate cleared his throat and asked "I see you've got a load of bruises, a couple scars and that your arm and shoulder is bleeding. I have a bunch of stimpak with me, in my pack, and i saw some more in this room. We'll get you fixed up, ma'am."

"Yeah, they gave me a lot of regular beatings, and they sliced my sides and my arms a few times. I've got one or two stab wounds too, i only got most of them a few hours ago, most of them are just light cuts, y'know, nothing too bad." she said.

"I'll go get some from the crate over there, gimme a sec."

Nate walked back across the room, grabbing a box full of Stimpak among other chems and brought them back over to her.

"Here you are."

She slowly looked over her shoulder and up at him and said "Look, i...i...Can i ask you to administer stimpak into my shoulder, the left side of my stomach and, um...this one's gonna sound really weird...but, one into my tit, for me please ? That asshole stabbed me in my shoulder and beat me even more before you got in here. I can probably handle the cuts on my legs, but i'd really appreciate your help with the others if you don't mind."

"You don't mind me seeing your breast ? I really don't wanna make you feel any more uncomfortable."

"Hell. I used to be a stripper back in Goodneighbour a long...long time ago. I don't really care if people look at them, just as long as they don't touch, or...or worse. But y'know, to me tits don't always need to be seen as sexual balls for men to play with, they're just a part of a girl's body. But, uh...look, right now I feel safe around you, and i don't think you're gonna hurt me like they did, or at all. But even if i did mind, the thing is, i can't move my arms too much without being in loads of pain, because of what they've all done to me. So i can't stim myself, and i really need to treat these wounds."

"I'll stim your shoulder and your side, but don't you atleast wanna cover your boob with a shirt ? I really don't wanna make you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, especially after everything these pricks have done to you."

"Look can we just stop it bleeding first, then i'll worry about getting myself dressed."

Nate knelt down next to her and she turned to face him. He now got a full exposure of the front of her body, and all the horrible things they'd done to her.

Her body was covered head to toe in bruises, she had many cuts on each limb, and parts of her skin were bright red with hand prints. What disturbed Nate most was what they had done to her breasts. There was a small cut on one of her breasts, just under her nipple. And both her breasts had more than a couple of very obvious bite marks on them, both around her areola and nipples, and the others on the sides of her breasts.

As he applied the first Stimpak into her shoulder he asked "So, this might be a weird time to ask, but what's your name ?-" Nate asked, before quickly adding "-Don't tell me if you don't want to though."

"My name ? ...My name's Vanessa. And you ?"

"I'm Nate."

"Nate. Well, thank you again for saving me, Nate."

"Hey, I didn't do it alone. I have a Mister Handy and a German Shepherd through the room that helped me get here." Nate said, pointing outside the room.

As her shoulder healed up, Nate administered the next one into the side of her stomach. At the same time, Vanessa grabbed two Stimpak and administered those into the injuries on her legs.

Finally, Nate took the final Stimpak and felt awkward having to look right at her breast as he gently inserted the Stimpak needle into her cut and administered it.

Now that Vanessa's cuts were all closing up and healing, Nate plucked a random t-shirt from the clothes box and wiped the blood off of her breast.

Vanessa grabbed herself a fresh t-shirt and tried to pull her arms through the arm holes and fit her head through the neck hole, but she found herself in too much pain. Her arms still ached. She tried again and again, with the same result.

"Would you like my Mr Handy's help ? He can help dress you." Nate offered, noticing her difficulty.

"I-I...Yeah. That'd be a good help. I keep trying to myself, but i'm in too much pain every time i try, and i really can't stretch my arms that much, like i can't lift them up any further than my chest."

"Codsworth! Could you come through here please!" Nate yelled into the next room.

"Certainly Sir! Stay pup. Good boy!"

Hovering into the room Codsworth didn't know quite what to expect. "Oh goodness me!" he exclaimed

"Codsworth, i need you to help Vanessa here to get herself dressed. She can't do it herself cause these pricks hurt her arms quite badly. All the clothes in here should fit her."

"Right away, Sir!"

Codsworth hovered over to Vanessa and examined her, and then the clothes box.

"Hello, Miss Vanessa. I am Codsworth. Allow me to hel-" He paused. "...Um...Sir ?"

"Yeah Codsworth ?"

"I regret to inform you that i can't dress Miss Vanessa by myself. My pincer arm isn't as functional as it was earlier, it might've taken some damage. I can still help her dress, but i may require your help in fitting her top properly, and in lifting the madam, so that her trousers won't be only halfway up her _*cough*_ 'bosom'."

"Oh." Nate said, turning his head back to Vanessa. "Um...that's something a bit too inappropriate for me to be doing, i think...Vanessa, do you want me to run back to your home and get your brother to come help you with this ? I..."

"No, If all you need to do is lift me up, and help me get my arms through the holes then i'm okay with that. Besides, i'd really not want my brother to see me...like this..."

"I understand. Okay then. Codsworth, pass me the shirt." Nate requested, receiving the shirt from Codsworth. He kneeled behind Vanessa, so as to save the moment feeling awkward.

Nate pulled the t-shirt hole over her head and around her neck, and then he and Codsworth gently helped her raise both her arms through the arm holes one at a time, and then finally both grabbed the bottom of the shirt and pulled it down her sides until it was on properly, and covered her upper half.

Codsworth grabbed some panties and jeans out of the box, and slipped the panties over her ankles, then pulled them down her legs.

"Okay, we're gonna need to lift you up enough so that we can get your pants on properly. Just say when you're ready." Nate informed her.

She lifted her arms as much as she could, to signal that she was ready. So Nate positioned his arms underneath hers and lifted her up enough so that Codsworth could pull the panties up her thighs and around her large bum. Repeating the whole process with the jeans. Finally they slipped two odd socks on, and two completely different shoes onto her feet, and even tied a plaid shirt around her waist, to act as a sort of belt.

Looking over herself, she looked up at them and said, "Thank you both, for doing this for me. I know you and me both felt awkward, but it's over now."

"Do you feel comfortable ? They're not itchy or too tight ?"

"Yeah, i feel fine actually."

"That's good to hear. Now, we're gonna help you get onto your feet on three, are you ready ?"

"Yeah."

"Okay...One. Two. Three."

Nate supported her and helped lift her up, and apart from a few small grunts of pain from Vanessa it all went fine. While she held onto his upper body, Nate leaned over to retrieve his knife. He yanked it from Krid's corpse, but still took the time to wipe the blood off of the blade, onto the fresh corpse.

He stood upright again and turned to look at her, "Alright, just so you know, before we leave here, i wanna have a talk with their leader, who i left alive out there. I only spared her because i'm gonna go interrogate her for any information about her buddies, after i've done that we'll finally get you out of this place."

"Are you gonna kill her afterwards ?" Vanessa asked curiously.

"Like i said, i need information from her first. I need to know where the rest of her friends are so that myself and my friend can one day end the rest of them too. After that she's of no use to me, or anyone else."

Vanessa's expression lightened up at that, though she remained quiet.

Nate took Vanessa's arm gently and held it as he helped walk her forwards out of the room. He walked them over to a now conscious Ack-Ack.

The raider leader - the sole survivor of her group now, looked over at them and grinned at the sight of them. "Aw, look! The happy couple! Hey, did Krid treat 'ya well newbie ? Oh, and hello again sexy, that's a helluva hard kick you got there Vaulty! Got anything else hard in store for me ?" she asked, suggestively raising her eyebrows.

Ignoring all that she'd just said, Nate addressed her. "Speak only when you're spoken to..."Ack-Ack", was it ? I have just three questions for you. Real simple shit, so listen up."

There was a brief pause.

"Number one. Where did your group come from ? Number two. Will anymore be coming to this area ? And number three. Why have you and your buddies done everything you have ? And don't piss around here. No sarcasm. No silence with a smug little smile. You co-operate, and you might get to live. Don't co-operate, and you will die slowly, and painfully. Capiche ?"

She looked up at him and continued to grin at him. "Yeah right you big 'ol hunk of muscle, like hell you'll let lil' ol' me go."

Nate just let out a low growl and unsheathed his knife again, and raised it up next to his face. He kept his expressionless look, but raised his eyebrows, basically letting her know this was her one and only warning. "Like i said, co-operate and i might let you go."

Looking around, seeing all her crew laying dead, and reminding herself how she was injured and defenceless, her smile slowly faded away and she finally huffed in defeat. "Ah...Fuck it, what have those fuckers ever done for me anyway...Fine."

"Good girl." Nate said, motioning with his knife for her to continue.

"We came from a big group living out in Lexington. We were looking to expand our group out to more than just one town, so yeah. More will definetly come. And why did we do all of what we did ? We did it because we could, cause we wanted to, cause it was fun, and cause no-one could stop us!"

"Thanks. You've been very helpful. Oh, and hey, you're right. No-one could stop you and your 'boys'. _Not until i came along._ " Nate said, hissing the last part to her, as he pulled out his LeMat and aimed it at her.

"HEY! HEY WAIT, YOU SAID Y- ***BANG*** "

Ack-Ack's limb body smacked against the floor with a smoking bullet hole between her eyes.

"Good riddance, bitch!" Vanessa muttered, spitting on Ack-Ack's corpse.

"It's time we left this place." Nate said, holstering his LeMat again and looking over at Vanessa.

"Can we burn this place to the ground ? All it's ever probably ever brought anyone is pain and bad memories." Vanessa replied, looked around the room.

"We can, and we will. But not today. That'll come soon, i promise. But before that i should get a group over here to grab all the resources we can first. Because this place is a gold mine. Once we've got all we need though, trust me, we absolutely will burn this place down."

Vanessa was pretty satisfied with that. "Good." she said

Nate walked her over to a couch up against the wall and rested her down on it,

"Give me a minute to go grab my pack, my rifle and a few extra things, then i'll carry you back home to your brother, because, hell...even in your current condition you shouldn't be moving around too much."

Vanessa scoffed. "God. You're like one of those 'angels' my momma always went on about, brought to life."

Nate scoffed too. "I told you before, i'm just a guy."

In the next few minutes Nate retrieved his pack, recovered his M16 from underneath two corpses lain in the bloodbath at the centre of the generator room, took the fusion core from the only remaining generator to keep the Power Armor fully operational for a bit longer, and Codsworth's detached Buzz-Saw.

He returned to Vanessa and lifted her up into his arms, bridal style. Now he finally lead everyone out of the building, back into the Commonwealth again. After what had felt like a good few hours.

...

The short journey back to Tenpines Bluff was quiet.

Vanessa was just taking in the beautiful scenery around her, taking in the beauty that still remained in the world today, and she eventually fell asleep. Which she definetly needed giving...well, everything.

Nate was solely focused on the task at hand of returning her home, and Codsworth and Dogmeat loyally followed behind, not paying real attention to much...Well, that wasn't exactly true. Codsworth's cleanliness protocols were going haywire at the sheer uncleanliness everywhere his eye-stalks looked.

...

When Tenpines Bluff was a few yards away the four were greeted by the sight of Vanessa's brother, sprinting over to them. Armed, but suddenly overcome with emotion.

"Vanessa?! Oh god! Is she okay ? Is she alive ?!" He asked, as he raced closer.

Nate said nothing, and when the man got close enough he had his answer. He held his breath briefly when he got close enough to see her bruises, and the state of her face. He holstered his weapon and looked at her face "-Oh god, oh fucking- Vanessa, are you okay ?! Oh, fucking god damn it! I was supposed to protect you, sis! Oh...god, what did they do to you, sis ?!" He asked in absolute panic.

"She's asleep just now. I've administered Stimpak to her major wounds, she's just sore and exhausted."

The man holstered his weapon and tried to take his sister from Nate's hands, but Nate stopped him before he could.

"She could really use the rest right now, sir. Your sister has gone through hell and back up in that satellite station. They beat her and cut her whole body, she's covered in bruises head to toe. The Stimpak are doing their job, but she's still in a great deal of pain. She can't move around too much, she said so herself. Honestly, she just needs to rest. But she should recover, in time." Nate told him.

The man closed his eyes and looked disappointed with himself.

"I was supposed to protect her. Neither of us has had it great, y'know. But i promised her i could make a better life for us out here. I can't help but feel this is my fault."

The man looked shocked, but he nodded and gently took his beaten little sister into his arms.

"Nonsense. None of this is your fault, you couldn't of known these fuckers would turn up and do what they did...Speaking of...I should let you know, that every single raider in there met a horrible, and extremely painful end. **Especially** the ones who did...well, _this_ to your sister. Just as you asked me to."

The man smiled a little and even produced a few tears of relief.

"Good, that's the best news i've heard in a long time, mister. Good riddance to those monsters. And god bless you mister. I-I...We, can't thank you enough. God bless you, mister."

The man carried his unconscious sister into the small shack they shared, and laid her down on the small bed in the corner, and then he left the shack to speak with her savior.

Immediately he tried to force a full bag of caps into Nate's hand. "Here, mister. I want you to have this. I know you said you wouldn't take one or that you didn't want one but please! Please, take it. You deserve it!" The man said, tears formed in his eyes that he was fighting back.

"Sir, please. We don't need a reward from you. You keep it. Our reward came from saving your sister from those monsters. Keep it." Nate insisted.

"You could use the caps for ammo or food though." The man argued.

"Got tons of ammo, and a good supply of food back home. So there's no reason for me to take any of your caps, sir. You can put them to better use." Nate said

The Man offered out his hand to Nate, and they shook hands. The Man shook for longer than Nate did and kept shaking his hand even when Nate stopped, and Nate could tell how grateful the man was.

"You can't be from around here, you just can't be. You surely must have come from outside of the Commonwealth...you're too good a person to be from around here."

Nate felt a small smile creep onto his face hearing that from him.

"Born and raised here, actually. But i've met other good people recently. Trust me, they're out there. What's your name by the way, sir ?"

"I'm Mark, sir. And you ?"

"Nate. That's Codsworth and...Dogmeat. Odd name, i know. But that's all i've known him as so far." Nate said, introducing himself and his buddies. He continued.

"-But...listen, sir...i wanna talk with you about something i gave some thought on our way back here."

"Okay, go ahead."

"Look. This place here, Tenpines Bluff...it's not safe. Maybe one day it will be...but not any time soon. Before i killed the leader of the group that terrorised you guys, i got her to tell me that more raiders are likely to come up here in the near future. And all you two have is one falling apart shack, about three, maybe four weapons, and each other. And considering the condition you and your sister are both in, it's even more unsafe for me to let yous stay here."

Mark looked around the area, and then at the shack. Nate was right.

"Well...where would we go ?" he asked

"Sanctuary Hills. It's where the rest of the Minutemen are. It's where i live. It's half an hour to an hours travel from here. And it's much, much safer than living here. I want you two to come back there with me, when yous are strong enough to move. I don't like the thought of leaving yous here."

"You'd...You'd bring us into your home ?"

"It's a pretty big place. So, yes. I would gladly."

Mark became quiet.

"Take your time to think it over." Nate said

"I'd like to wait for Vanessa to wake up, and discuss it with her. I wouldn't want to make the decision for her."

"Of course. But until you do, we'd like to stay here and watch out for anymore raiders that could turn up throughout the night. I'd like to personally escort yous to Sanctuary, if you do come."

"You might be here a while. That's the only thing. I wouldn't want to wake my sister up neither, considering that might be the most calm and peaceful she's been in the last day and a half." Mark said glancing back at the shack.

"That's fine. Me and my friends will stand watch."

"After all you've done for us, i really couldn't ask y-"

"Sir." Nate politely interrupted, raising his hand, cutting Mark off.

"Please. We'd be happy to do more. Ey Codsworth ?"

"Absolutely, Sir! Doing so much to help others out here simply warms my nuclear core!"

"You see ? Besides, you should actually get yourself some rest too. God knows you'll have been insanely stressed out, and have kept yourself wide awake since all of...this, happened. Rest. We'll keep an eye out, incase more assholes turn up."

Mark shook Nate's hand again, and he said. "If you're just one of the 'new' Minutemen, then this whole Commonwealth might just be saveable after all."

The shack door closed shut, and so, Nate, Dogmeat and Codsworth all took up positions around the shack, watching the distance for any threats that may turn up. Nate himself chose to watch the distance north east, to watch out for the people at 'Outpost Zimonja' potentially coming their way. So here they stood, ready and waiting for whatever may come.

* * *

Finally got this out, took a while to get this feeling good enough to post. Hope you enjoyed!


	10. Chapter 10: The Abernathy Family

Sorry for the delay in getting this out. This'll be a shorter chapter than previous ones. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

The trip back to Sanctuary was one filled with paranoia. Raiders could ambush the group at any time, so they had to stay alert.

Codsworth had been instructed to warn the group if he detected a large amount of life signs closing in on their position, and incase that didn't work they still had Dogmeat and his trusty nose.

They had just about reached the half-way point between Tenpines Bluff and Sanctuary Hills.

...

As soon as Vanessa had woken up her brother had told her about Nate's offer, and what she wanted to do. She had made her decision very quickly. The two of them were Sanctuary bound.

So just ten minutes later Mark put Vanessa's arm around his neck and started to carry her, as she was still too sore to move on her own at the moment.

...

Now the group were approaching the bridge back into Sanctuary, they all began to relax again, feeling safe here with other people. People who weren't disgusting raiders.

Preston quickly came rushing into view and made a bee-line across the bridge, meeting the group half-way.

"I saw you carrying her from here, and you're covered in blood Nate, what happened ? How badly are you all hurt ?" Preston immediately asked, all worried about them after he'd seen the state of Vanessa and Mark.

"What happened is raiders had my sister as their hostage and they beat me within an inch of my life. But your buddy Nate here saved her and brought her back to me. Then they stayed with us to keep guard until dawn, until we could move my sister over here." Mark explained to him.

"Good to know you and your sister are okay, sir. I got worried something might've happened! I was real close to coming out to look for you guys...thank god you're all alright though." Preston responded, and then realised how rude he was being.

"Sorry, excuse my bad manners folks. Preston Garvey, commonwealth minutemen. At your service!" He said offering his hand to Mark.

Mark shook his hand and said "Nate, uh, said we could move in here with you folks. We only had a small falling apart shack out there, and Nate wouldn't let us stay there. I hope it's no trouble..."

Preston gave a quick half-smile at hearing that, and replied, "No, no. It's no trouble whatsoever! I'm actually really glad Nate brought you both back here, you're both more than welcome!"

Mark smiled and introduced himself and his sister. "Thank you, mister! My name's Mark by the way, and this is my sister, Vanessa."

"Hiya, mister." Vanessa quietly said.

"Ma'am. Well, it's nice to meet you both, and it's great to have you both here." Preston said, his smile wide now with joy at having two more people safe from raiders.

"Great to be here. Now, if it's not too much trouble, could we find somewhere for my sister to go lay down and rest at all ? She was beaten badly too and needs some time to recover." Mark told Preston, while also asking politely.

"Of course, we've got a few intact couches around here and some beds in cellars below some of the houses for her to rest on. I'll show you to them." Preston said, turning to lead them off when Nate shouted after them.

"-Hey, Preston! Vanessa and Mark can rest on the couch in my house if they don't like the cellars. Some fresh air might help, y'know ?"

Preston nodded back at him "Got it, i'll let them decide. I'll speak to you in a bit Nate." he said, as he holstered his rifle and helped Mark carry Vanessa up the street, leaving the trio behind at the bridge.

Nate took the opportunity to light up a cigarette while he had time to sit and relax now.

The first drag he took felt so calming and helped him de-stress somewhat. As he took another drag he looked down at his clothes, and decided he needed to go see if he could wash out some of the blood that covered them. And Codsworth was ever so eager to help. Surprise, surprise...

 _30 minutes later..._

Nate was sat in his bathroom and had somewhat succeeded in his task, though there were still some little stains of blood here and there. Codsworth had gone off now to find Sturges to see about getting his buzz-saw re-attached, taking Dogmeat with him so that he could enjoy a little walk along the way. Going over the recent events in his head, so as to assess his new found skills, Nate was suddenly pulled from them by that familiar voice.

"You're something else, man."

Turning round, Nate saw Preston stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, and a genuine smile on his face.

"I'm just a soldier, Preston. A soldier, and a simple man."

Preston gave a low chuckle and replied, "Yeah. A soldier who does a lot of good for people he doesn't even know, and a simple man who saves those peoples lives and gives them a safe new home, despite being new to this world, in a sense...You inspire me, man."

"Do i, really ?" Nate asked him, turning around and looking at him. Curious if he was really being serious.

"Yes, you do. Before i met you i thought all the good people out there had been killed off after the last Minutemen fell. But seeing all that you've done has given me hope that maybe i was wrong. I know that i haven't exactly known you for that long Nate. But i can already see all the positive things someone like you can bring to this world. You saved those two people, Mark and Vanessa. Twice, actually." Preston told him.

"Yeah. But i wouldn't have even known about their situation if not for you, Preston. You saved them just as much as i did. You're one of the good guys too, and don't go thinking you're not. While i was saving those two, you were keeping the others safe and sound. Don't put me on a pedestal, and don't be putting yourself down man." Nate responded.

Preston processed what Nate had just told him.

"You know what...maybe...maybe you are right, maybe i have been putting myself down too much lately. It's just...since Quincy, i-"

"-You feel like you're not worthy of being labelled 'a good man' because you couldn't get everyone out alive ?"

"Yeah..."

"As shitty as it sounds, that's just War sometimes Preston. Unfortunately not everyone makes it...but you never gave up. You never abandoned your group and never thought only about yourself. You put their lives first and fought as hard as you could against any threat against them. You're what this world needs too." Nate reassured him.

"I...thanks, Nate. That actually makes me feel a bit better inside." Preston replied with a thankful smile.

"No problem bud, was there something else you wanted ?" Nate asked.

"Just a couple of things, yeah. Like, for one...whose blood were you covered in ? And are you injured in any way, do you need bandaged ?"

"All that blood was the blood of maybe...twenty or more raiders i think...and no i don't need bandaged actually, i didn't actually even get hit once."

"Not even once ?"

"Nope." Nate replied with a somewhat cocky smirk.

"Damn. You a ninja or something ? I always get atleast one or two grazes every couple of firefights, and i doubt those raiders made it easy for you."

"Oh...yeah, my Pip-Boy kinda lets me slow down time and target multiple targets at once." Nate told him, laughing at how he sounded to himself right now.

"..."

There was a silence between them for a few seconds before Preston burst out laughing so much that Nate seriously thought he'd start choking to death, and Nate almost started laughing along with him the more Preston laughed.

"Man, if that were true i'd be diving into the next vault i see to get me one too, hahah!"

"Yeah i bet. By the way, i saw a whole load of weapons, armor, clothes, food, drink and chems in that Satellite station when i went there to rescue Vanessa. And i killed all the raiders in there too, so i'd recommend going back there sometime soon and looting everything we can so that this place is even more liveable and better protected." Nate said to Preston, informing him of the valuables inside the old satellite station.

"Really ? Nice! Damn that come in really handy for this new home of ours...alright then, yeah we should definetly get over there sometime soon. Especially before anymore raiders move in." Preston added.

"Exactly."

"I marked it on my Pip-Boy's map, along with Tenpines Bluff. I'll show you it's location later." Nate added

"Okay man, that'd really help. So, uh...when were you planning on heading to Diamond City then ?" Preston asked after a minute.

Nate took some time to respond. Not really sure himself.

"I was thinking after when i helped the folk from Tenpines out, but...after seeing what these 'raiders' do, well...if more raiders come this way, and if they come in greater numbers and find this place, they'll attack and might overwhelm you guys, and do...horrifying shit to the women. So, as desperate as i am to find my son...i'm gonna stick about a bit longer and make sure you guys are safe here, or safe enough atleast...besides, when i have my son back safe and sound we are gonna need a safe home here in this world that's...still so new to me...and the truth is, i don't know if i could ever really part with this place, y'know...despite..."

"Despite all the reminders of your past and the painful memories that might come with it every time you look around you ?" Preston asked, as if finishing his sentence for him.

"Yeah..."

"Well, i know just how desperate you are to find Shaun. But i thank you for deciding to stay here and help us a while longer, Nate. Thank you, seriously." Preston said, placing his palm on Nate's shoulder.

"You don't need to thank me, Preston. It's the right thing to do." Nate told him.

"In any case, would you mind accompanying me somewhere not too far from here ?" Preston asked him.

"Depends, what're we doing ?" Nate asked, appearing confused to Preston.

"There's this farm about ten minutes to the south-east of Sanctuary. Built around the frame of an old high-voltage tower. I remember my squad got this call about a month and a bit back from an 'Abernathy Farm', asking for help with some raiders. But we-"

"Wait, did you just say _'Abernathy Farm'_ ?!" Nate asked, suddenly raising his head with a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah...why ? You sound worried." Preston quickly noted.

"I...when i was in that satellite station saving Vanessa, i found these boxes filled with...evidence of the actions of those raiders, at different settlements and...well..."

"What ? Are you saying that you found proof that the raiders have been there already ?!"

Nate gave him a simple nod.

"Shit.." Preston whispered. "So...um, so what did the pictures you saw show ? Tell me then. What exactly happened there ?"

"They'd taken pictures of what they...what they did there...fuck know why they did man, but Jesus Christ dude...there's no easy way to describe what i saw there." Nate said taking a deep breath before he told Preston everything. "They'd shot a woman living there in the stomach, stripped her naked, took pictures of her laying there in her own pool of blood, and...Well, I don't wanna imagine what they did next..."

"Fuck...Fuck! Goddammit! Why can't those assholes just leave people alone! Why do they always have to take from the hard working, innocent people out here and torment them! God fucking dammit man!" Preston exclaimed, rubbing his head and pacing about, now clearly stressed out before taking a deep breath himself.

"D'you still wanna go there ? If raiders live there now we should atleast wipe them out. Make the area even safer, and cut down their numbers y'know ? And if we don't find any raiders, and only find the corpses of those people instead then the least we could do is bury the bodies...or whatever's left..." Nate suggested, trying to sound somewhat hopeful.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's a good plan man. I'll let Sturges know. We shouldn't take long."

 _10 minutes later..._

As Nate and Preston were walking down the long field they were having a lengthy conversation with each other. Just after they'd started crossing the lake south-west out of Sanctuary they'd come across an abandoned, slightly rusted APC. They were talking about how to retrieve it and if they could get it in working condition or not.

They climbed a small hill and walked around a corner, and that conversation came to a sudden halt. After following the large tower here all the way from Sanctuary they were finally here. And now, seeing Abernathy Farm in the distance not too far ahead of them, the two men both stood there and took in the rather impressive sight of the high-voltage tower now directly ahead of them. They noticed that the tower itself was covered half-way up it's structure by a crap-ton of wooden supports all over it, and there was a small farm in the distance, just outside the base of the tower.

"Looks very impressive..." Nate said after a few seconds of taking in the sight.

"Yeah, yeah it does, doesn't it..." Preston replied, with a hint of sadness in his tone.

Nate was about to say something else when the two of them heard a rifle being cocked behind them, followed by a voice yelling at them. "That's far enough assholes. Drop your weapons, put your hands up and turn around. Slowly. Or i'll shoot."

Nate and Preston both cursed in unison and reluctantly did as they were told. Upon turning around they were met with a single man, wearing farmers clothes and holding a Hunting rifle towards the pair. The man having emerged from a small capsule tilted to one side that the two men had paid no attention to on their way past. This was no raider trying to rob them, this was a paranoid farmer.

"Who are you two, and what are you doing on my farm ?" the man asked.

"Your farm ? That means..." Preston repeated to himself in a muttered tone, before his face lit up and he spoke clearly. "Forgive us for intruding, Sir. Are you 'Mr. Abernathy' ?"

The man lowered his rifle for a moment before raising it back up and asking "How do you know who i am ? Tell me who you are!"

"My name's Preston Garvey, of the commonwealth minutemen. And this is my friend, Nate Johnson. We were scouting the area around our home, to make sure no more raiders are posing threats to us and other people out here."

"Minutemen ?...I called for some of your minutemen **ONE MONTH AGO!** RAIDERS CORNERED US AND THEY-" The man held his tounge and took a moment. "-My daughter suffered because you motherfuckers didn't show up to help! You never came!"

Preston looked truly upset, and felt horrible on the inside.

" **WELL ?!** " The man yelled at them "COME ON THEN! **EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!?** "

Taking a step forward, Preston spoke to Mr. Abernathy.

"Sir, i wanna personally apologise for our failure and for what the raiders did to you and your family. The minutemen had no excuse to leave you folks without help. I, uh...i actually remember your call coming through. When no-one else did, i personally asked my superiors to let myself and four others head up this way to help you folks out. But our superiors denied it, they told me they couldn't afford to spare the men for it, and that there was too many threats between us and this farm to risk it anyway. Or atleast that's the excuse they gave us...I was, well...we were gonna defy them anyway and come to help you folks...but then a few days later a large group of Gunners attacked our makeshift HQ, and had us stuck in our location for another day. And after that the minutemen were almost completely wiped out...i've been escorting a group up this way, all the way from Quincy for the last month now..."

Mr. Abernathy's expression lightened somewhat, and he said. "Hmm. I think i heard a bit about that on the radio. Didn't you folk suffer some serious casualties there ?"

Preston gave a small, sad chuckle. "That's putting it lightly, Sir. The minutemen more or less died there in Quincy. The group i escorted, we travelled from Quincy, through Jamaica Plains and Lexington, up through Concord and finally found a home over in Sanctuary Hills. There's only five of us left from the twenty originally in that group that made it to Sanctuary alive. Nate, his Mr Handy and a German Shepherd found us and saved us you see."

Now Mr. Abernathy lowered his hunting rifle down. "Oh...so, the minutemen are all dead is what you're saying. That's why we didn't get the help we needed ?"

"Unfortunately so, sir. But we're hoping to start rebuilding and recruiting new members, so that we can make the commonwealth a safer place to live once again. But right now, i'm the only minuteman from my group left alive. Nate here isn't a member of the minutemen, but he's been helping me and my group survive though. I don't think we'd be here now if it wasn't for him. So, i asked him to come with me here. I wanted to know what happened to you folks here. I _needed_ to know...i'm so, so sorry we didn't get here sooner, Sir..."

"That, uh...that sounds horrible. Sorry you went through that, mister. So, i guess i can forgive you for not coming to help us then. But you can make up for that and help us now." he told the two soldiers.

"Anything you need, sir." Preston replied.

Mr. Abernathy nodded and started explaining. "Reason i was hiding in that capsule is cause those raiders could come back here at anytime, from either the front or the back of the farm to extort us, or beat us again. I'm watching the back. My wife is watching the front. Because if-No, _when_ they come back, we don't want them repeating what they did when they came for us the first time."

Preston shared a look with Nate. They knew more or less what he was gonna tell them, but they also wanted the full story that this man experienced first-hand.

"If it's not too hard for you to talk about, could we ask what they-"

"I'm gonna tell you. Because i need you to understand how much they need to pay...so, one peaceful day they showed up outta nowhere, and they caught us all off-guard. Attacked us, and killed our guards. Then lined us all up out front our home. Their leader, this crazy woman with a mini-gun, told us how we had 'failed them' and that we were going to pay for it."

Mr. Abernathy took a deep breath and continued once more. "I tried to reason with her, but she didn't listen and...and she drove a knife into my son, Patrick's eye-socket and forced us to watch him, as he died...God, in so much pain! -When that happened my daughter, Mary, she just snapped and screamed out in anger and tried to attack that raider scum-bitch. But the bitch knocked down my daughter so easily though. She told Mary that she had 'earned her respect' for trying to attack her, but that she still had to pay for it...and that's when she shot Mary...right in her stomach."

"Jesus..." Preston muttered to himself, feeling sick to his stomach at how raiders chose to interact with normal people.

"-She gave her a stimpak though, i don't know why. But then their leader had her people make sure we were all restrained, and had Mary stripped bare and then...Oh, god!" He said, covering his mouth at what he remembered about that day. "Their leader...she...she started...ugh...licking Mary's body...and then...she had her men-No! Her filthy, disgusting **pigs!** -Fucking PISS on her!"

Nate and Preston both looked utterly disgusted, Preston even looked like he was about to be sick.

"-They left after taking pictures of her, just...lying there, and said we had a month to get them a large supply of food, drink, chems and weapons. Or that next time they'd take my other daughter away with them and do worse than they'd just done!"

Mr. Abernathy was almost brought to tears as he recalled the horror from that day.

Nate stepped forward and asked. "Raider leader, she have this black and red armor by any chance ? And red hair ?"

"Yeah. Why ?" he asked

"Good news then. Bitch is dead. Killed her myself. Her and all her little pals up at the satellite station."

"She's...she's d-dead ?!" he asked in slight disbelief.

"Yes, sir." Nate said with a grin.

"She's-She's really dead ?! She's...Oh, thank god! Oh my god...oh, mister you don't know how relieved i am to hear you say that! Oh-ho-ho! Thank. God!" Mr. Abernathy exclaimed, absolutely overjoyed with the news. So much so that he started crying. He was so shocked by the news that he fell to his knees, dropping his rifle aside and covering his mouth, trying to cover up his sobs of relief.

At this point, Nate remembered the locket he took from the Abernathy Farm 'evidence box' back at the satellite station.

"By the way, does this-" Nate said, as he put his bag on the ground and started rummaging through it, soon finding what he was looking for. "-Belong to you ?" he said, holding out the locket in his palm for Mr. Abernathy to get a good look at.

Mr. Abernathy looked up and his eyes instantly went wide with happiness, as he focused on the locket through his tears, struggling to form words for a solid half a minute.

"Tha-That's Mary's locket! Where did you find it ?" he eventually asked.

"It was in a box in an...evidence room of sorts, at that satellite station. I took it with me, so that i could wear it whenever i killed any other raiders i came across. Let it's owner get revenge from the grave in a sense, i guess. But now that we know you're the owner of it, it's only right you get it back, sir."

"Thank you so much, mister." Mr. Abernathy said taking it from Nate's hand, before getting back up onto his feet and explaining to them, "-Its a...it's a family heirloom you see, and its been in my wife's family for generations! Oh, she'll be so glad to have it back!"

"Glad we could do something to help you folks." Nate said.

"You've done more for us than anyone else has for us in the last year. Please, come with me. Both of you. I wanna introduce you both to my family and tell them this great news! C'mon with me." Mr. Abernathy told them, motioning for them to follow him as he started walking towards the house.

Picking their weapons back up, the two men followed the now overjoyed farmer from the capsule towards his home.

They reached the front section of the house and were greeted by a small grey cat on the porch.

Nate was partly shocked and surprised to see an animal that hadn't been horribly mutated by all the radiation, besides Dogmeat of course.

"Hiya Maisie, still standing guard, eh ?" Mr. Abernathy asked the small cat, getting a loud meow in return.

"Just stay here a moment, gents. I need to go let my wife know that we have guests and that we're safe now." he said, jogging off towards a large watch tower down the field a little bit.

...

Two minutes later he returned with his wife by his side. She was a dirt-covered women with short shoulder-length dark blonde hair, dressed in a dark green jumpsuit and wielding a hunting rifle like her husband, only hers was missing it's stock.

The couple walked up to the two soldiers and Mr. Abernathy got to introducing his wife.

"Fellas, forgive me for not properly introducing myself to you both before. My name's Blake. And this here is my wife, and mother of my children, Connie."

The soldiers both turned to face Connie, Nate gave her a nod while Preston addressed her. "Ma'am."

"Hiya fellas. Nice to meet yous both." she said, "Blake told me that you two got rid of the raiders at the satellite station and showed me that you even retrieved my families locket too. You've made this area a whole lot safer for everyone living around these parts. I can't begin to think of how to properly thank you both for the great things you've done."

Preston spoke for both of them - "That's alright ma'am, we don't need any reward. Just knowing you folks are surviving is enough for us.", Nate nodded in agreement with Preston's words.

"C'mon, i want you to meet our girls, i want...ugh, _need_ them to know, what heroes look like." Blake said, unlocking the front door to his home before slowly opening it and yelling out. "It's alright girls. It's me. Me and your mom have special guests over we want you to meet. Of the good kind, so don't worry."

"Girl **s** ?" Nate thought to himself.

Walking into the building Nate and Preston were met with the sight of a Brahmin in the corner of the room sleeping peacefully, and then they saw the silhouettes of two women emerging from the back of the room, from a well hidden room.

One was sat in a wheelchair while the other pushed it towards them all.

"Gentlemen. These are my two beautiful daughters, Lucy and Mary." Blake said, identifying Mary as the one who was wheelchair bound.

"Now Mary, as i told you, nearly got killed by those monsters that day. But that stimpak saved her life. Unfortunately though, she lost the use of her lower body. But she still helps out tremendously despite it." He said, turning to his daughters to introduce them to the two men in their home right now.

"Girls, these men here are...Preston, and...Nate. Right ?" Blake told his daughters, introducing them to the two soldiers. Hoping he'd remembered their names they'd given him correctly.

Preston nodded to Blake to confirm he'd introduced them right.

"Ladies." Nate said, extending his hand. Which they both looked at hesitantly, scowling at the man they didn't trust right that moment.

"It's alright girls. These men aren't gonna hurt us. They actually came out here to make sure we were all doing okay. They're both soldiers who've killed the raider bastards who came here before and hurt us."

Like he did before at the news, Blake's daughters expressions both lightened up, and their scowls went away. Replaced by shocked relief.

The one in the wheelchair Blake introduced as Mary spoke up first. "You killed that red haired bitch and the pieces of shit that were with her ?" she asked.

Nate nodded. "Yup. Every last one of them. Made doubly sure they were all dead."

There was a pause in Mary's next question. "...Did-Did you make them suffer ?"

"When i had the time to, yeah i did. Shot a lot of them in the neck, so most of them bled out in pain. But most just got a bullet to the head. I was there to rescue another women, you see. And i had to work through them fast because they were gonna rape her if i didn't get to her quick enough."

Mary recoiled at the disgusting thought, and pressed another question. "How's that women doing now ?"

"She was, uh...she was bruised, battered and tortured by them. They didn't get to carry out their plans to rape her, but...they still managed to do horrific things to her. She and her brother have moved into our home now, at my request. They're both resting up now. We weren't back there long before my friend, Preston here, wanted to come check this place out. See if some raiders lived here, or if there were good, innocent people in need of protection."

"My god! That's horrible! But they're supremely lucky you came to their aid, and it sounds like you had perfect timing too." Lucy suddenly added, voicing her views.

"Yeah, i agree. That lady sure is lucky you showed up when you did. And we're all lucky you showed up there too, i guess."

At this moment, Connie - the girls mother, spoke up and interrupted the conversation.

"Sorry to interrupt here, but look what Nate here brought back to us, Mary." she said, holding out the locket for her daughter to take.

"You...you found my locket and brought it back here ?" she asked turning back to Nate, whom just gave her a comforting smile.

"This locket means so much to me...to all of us, mister. I...Thank you so much! I know to you it's just a dusty old locket, but to us it's-"

"-Something of great sentimental value. Yeah, it had that look about it when i found it. I'm glad it brings you all so much happiness to have it back though." Nate said, interrupting, while also speaking what this whole family was thinking."

"Glad we could bring you some form of happiness today, folks. So, uh, now that we know you're safe, and now that you know those raiders are dead, what'll you folks do ?" Preston asked the family.

Blake straightened out his back and gave a response. "Well, now that you've brought us all this news i think it's time to start the farm back up again. Time to start trading again, get old Clarabell back out on the road." He said, pointing over to the sleeping Brahmin in the corner. "-and to get some new food growing out front. We can actually start being a functional settlement again now!" Blake confidently spoke.

"Ah-actually you might wanna hold off on that for just a little longer, sir." Preston interjected.

"Huh ? Why's that ?" Blake asked.

"Whether you're trading with Diamond City or Bunker Hill or whoever, right now Lexington is still filled to the brim with Raiders and Feral Ghouls. I don't think it'd be safe to go near that area even if you're passing by from a distance, there could be snipers or hidden ghouls. I don't want you risking your life like that." Preston reminded him.

"Well then how do i support my family and keep them alive ? Our food and ammo won't be around forever you know." Blake reminded him.

"Would you mind if Nate and i stood outside for a minute or two, sir. I have an idea on how to fix this problem, but i'll need to talk to him about it first."

"Yeah, alright sure. But i need to know about this plan of yours too, you hear ?"

"Absolutely, sir." Preston assured him.

Preston motioned for Nate to follow him outside, and he followed.

"Okay, so here's my plan Nate. We're gonna head out towards Lexington and then wait till sunset. We've gotta clear it of both feral ghouls and raiders if things are gonna get better for these people and Sanctuary itself. We can't keep hoping to find raider strongholds to clear to get more supplies for us all to benefit from."

Nate gave Preston a look, and said to him. "Right. While those are all valid points, you do remember we're only two men...against a whole town of monsters, don't you ?"

"Yeah, i do. But you took out a satellite station full of Chemed-up raiders and did alright. Besides, if we go there and clear out the ferals around sunset, then take the raiders when it gets dark that should give us a big advantage."

"Why's that ?" Nate inquired.

"Because going against ferals in the dark is a terrible idea, and going against all the raiders there in broad daylight isn't bright either."

"Hmm, i'm trusting you here, Preston. Because you've lived in this type of world all your life. But even with that slight tactical advantage, didn't you hear what i just said to you ? We. Are still. Just. Two men." Nate reminded him for a second time.

"Okay then. Wanna take Codsworth and Dogmeat then ?" Preston asked, throwing his hands up in slight frustration.

"Sure. Extra support is always good. But do you know the area ? Any areas we can use to sneak attack enemies, or spots to use to hide from them. What weapons they have ? If there's any more of those 'Deathclaws' hiding in the sewers there ?" Nate asked, bombarding Preston with questions.

"I know the area well enough from the short time i was there. There's one armored raider in the town centre, with two buddies of his. The rest of town is filled with ferals. The factory at the top of town is where the rest of the raiders stay. Plenty patrol around the entrances and there's snipers on the roof."

"Right...lets work on a plan of action then. Whether we go today, tomorrow, or whenever. We need a solid plan to cover all that ground and kill all those enemies. We need to be sneaky, but prepared for an all-out firefight if shit goes south." Nate advised.

"I agree. So lets go fill the Abernathy's in on our basic-plan, then get back to Sanctuary and work on a well-thought out plan of attack. Sound good ?" Preston decided, asking Nate's opinion.

"Sounds good. After you." Nate said, motioning for Preston to go back inside first.

Preston chuckled to himself. "Age before beauty."

"Cheeky fucker..." Nate muttered, following after.

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed! This chapter was mostly just set-up for bigger things to come!


	11. Chapter 11: A Close Encounter

**Hey all!**

 **So sorry this took forever to get out for you guys. I've just been SOO busy with work, moving house, oh and having to deal without having internet FOR THREE WHOLE DAMN WEEKS :,(**

 **But i'm so honoured that you all stuck with this story despite the wait. You guys are the best! So please, read on and i hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 11:**

"Beautiful..."

Nate had forgotten just how beautiful the light of the sun could look over the city on a good day. To him it was almost...calming. It almost made him feel...peaceful again. It almost made him feel like he was back home, in his own time...

A gentle hand lightly landing on his shoulder pulled him back to reality.

"Hey. You doing okay man ?" asked Preston as Nate turned his head.

Nate glanced at him, and then wordlessly just looked back at the city again, answering - "Yeah. Just-" He paused suddenly and took a deep breath. Exhaling, he said "-Just haven't seen a sight like this for quite a while now. See, me and Nora, we...we always liked to just sit and gaze at sights like this for hours whenever we didn't have other things to see to, and...y'know what we both really loved was just...just watching the sunsets and sunrise every now and again. So, uh...seeing a sight like...that, in a world like this, it's uh...yeah." Nate said, randomly cutting himself off and silently walking off ahead alone, Dogmeat trotting happily after him.

They had been walking down the hill outside of the Concord church when Nate was affected by the beautiful reminder of better times.

Codsworth floated over to Preston, feeling the need to explain his master's odd behaviour.

"I do apologise, Mister Garvey. Master Nate is, well...indeed it must be quite difficult for him to fully adjust to such a different land than the one he fondly remembered in his time, especially without the missus or young Shaun being here with him to keep his spirits up."

Preston gave him a sympathetic and knowing look of sorts and nodded. "I...think i get what he's going through, atleast somewhat. Because for him, he had a beautiful countryside to look at, with a nice house and a loving family, and now that's all been taken away from him and it's taking it's toll on him. Whereas, for me, i had the Minutemen. People i believed in, who went out and protected innocent people from harm...and now the commonwealth, and i...we don't have them to protect it anymore, and that's certainly been taking it's toll on me for sure. I know those aren't necessarily the same circumstances...but i do understand loss."

"Loss of any kind is a cruel mistress indeed. 'Tis a shame for anyone to have to experience. Ah...Such unfortunate times we find ourselves in, Mister Garvey, and such a shame that we must resort to violence to solve problems." Codsworth said to Preston, changing the subject to the reason they were all out here right now.

"Believe me, Codsworth. I never wanted _this_ to be the way we solve problems. But raiders like these ones in Lexington, they don't give us the choice anymore. They choose that life and think they can do whatever they like to others without consequence. This is the only way now...they'll never see what they're doing as bad, and so they leave us no other choice."

...

The group of four had left the Abernathy Farm and had waited until midday the following day to head towards the Raider HQ in Lexington and deal with them.

And with the sole exception of Dogmeat, they had all spent much of the previous night discussing every single tactic and approach they could think of to form the most successful plan of attack. By the end of their discussions they had two main plans ready and planned out, for if one failed then atleast they had a backup plan.

 _ **Plan A**_ was this - They'd get to Lexington town centre, quickly dispatch the ferals there as quickly and quietly as possible while the sun was still providing them with enough light to see clearly, then after the ferals were dealt with they'd find this sewer entrance on the east side of town, near the old bus station. Preston said he'd spotted it on his first journey through Lexington and that he was certain it led underneath the factory itself.

From there they'd sneak up into a hopefully empty room inside the factory, and this is where it got interesting. They'd grab two individual raiders, kill 'em and then wear their clothes as a disguise, then use that to their advantage. Whether that advantage be sneaking into the Raider Leader's area without arousing suspicion to surprise attack them or simply just to avoiding alerting any of them long enough to get up close enough to quietly kill individuals raiders, or a pair of raiders one by one until all lay dead. Either worked for them.

However - _**Plan B**_ was quite different. They'd still deal with the ferals, but then instead of going through the sewers, playing dress-up and being stealthy, they'd wait patiently in the centre of town for as long as needed, hell maybe even scavenge some things here and there while they had the time. See, they were hoping to use the eventual sunset to their advantage against the patrolling raiders on the outside of the factory, and then after taking them all out, they would grab some extra weapons from the corpses and make a scene by gunning down every raider they saw when they went inside, just as a way to make the raiders feel the exact same fear they make their innocent targets feel.

...

As the duo continued following Nate, they suddenly focused their attention on him when they saw him kneel down and raise his upper left arm up, with his fist clenched shut. Preston recognised what he was doing instantly. Nate was signalling them to stop, as there was likely a possible threat up ahead.

Preston crouched down and silently moved over to Nate's side.

"You hear that ?" Nate asked him as Preston stopped next to him.

"I hear Codsworth..." Preston joked, trying to lighten the mood given how noisy he thought Codsworth's propulsion engine was being in the background.

"Funny. Seriously though, you hear that ?" Nate asked again. Seemingly not in the mood for the humour just now.

Preston focused his hearing, and he heard...voices. Two of them to be more exact. Two distinct voices, both shouting. Preston thought about how they weren't too far from the roads, and that perhaps they were passing by that old diner that was close to the wrecked Pre-War movie theatre ?

"Sounds like two people arguing." Preston commented.

Nate turned to him, "Alright, you're the expert. Should we go investigate ? Could be a raider party out looking for our settlements, or raiders hassling some random innocent. It worth the look ?"

"Yeah, i say we investigate. Lets get a closer look." Preston responded, his curiosity getting the better of him.

The group moved towards the voices and lo and behold, quickly came upon the old diner Preston and his group had passed by on his way out of Lexington.

Pulling out some binoculars, Preston saw that there were two people stood outside that diner, a man and a woman, both pointing their weapons inside the diner, and shouting towards it angrily.

Looking towards the inside of the diner, Preston saw an older woman stood there, shouting back and also holding a weapon too, pointing it back at the two people outside.

Nate and Preston couldn't make out what they were arguing about though, or why they were pointing guns at one another.

"They look like raiders to me." Nate whispered when he looked through the binoculars. Noting the dirty clothes and the shady actions of the two outside the diner and how dodgy they seemed.

Preston saw his point, but disagreed when he looked them over again. Knowing the wasteland's certain inhabitants well enough at this point in his life. Replying - "Nah. Raiders would've already shot her by now. I think we're dealing with mercenaries or Goodneighbour dealers instead."

"You sure ?" Nate asked, sounding somewhat doubtful.

"Pretty sure." Preston responded.

Nate said nothing more, so Preston looked at him and saw the look he was getting.

"What ?" he asked.

"Ahh...I dunno, i'm not convinced, man." Nate replied.

Preston sighed, "Well you'll just have to take my word man. I've grown up in this world, trust me. Besides, if things go south i know we can handle them."

Codsworth offered his input, saying - "Sirs. If i may interject. One of my many functions is the addition of long-range hearing and recording device installed within my arm. Shall i activate this device, and listen to what these people are arguing about ?"

Both men looked at Codsworth, and then at each other, and nodded. "Alright Codsworth, go ahead." Nate said.

"Right away, sir!" Codsworth replied, raising his pincer arm up and revealing a small retractable satellite dish from the 'sleeve' of his arm, activating it and pointing it towards the diner.

After a few moments of patient waiting, Codsworth spoke up. "The two individuals pointing their weapons at the elderly lady seem to be demanding that she 'pay them what she's due them', whilst the lady is shouting about how their 'poison-chems' have had a negative effect on her 'boy'.

"Yup. Like i said, Chem dealers. Most likely from Goodneighbour."

"Hmm. What else they saying Codsworth ?" Nate asked. Wanting more information.

"Now the two 'dealers' as mister Garvey called them, are insisting that she pay what she owes them, and the male is saying that he doesn't want any gunfight to break out. By the tone of his voice, he seems to be desperately trying to avoid it."

"What's the old lady saying to that ?" Nate inquired.

"She says she wants them away from her boy for good, or she'll shoot."

"Shit. We need to get down there right now. I won't be able to live with myself if i do nothing and someone dies here. Do you think that's wise, Preston ?" Nate admitted, before seeking advice.

"Yes i do, Nate. I'm of the exact same mindset. C'mon, lets go!" Preston replied.

The group hurried down the slope, coming out of hiding and quickly approaching the diner.

Preston shouted out to them " **HEY!** Drop 'em! Right now!" as they approached, guns already trained on the two dodgy looking aggressors.

The two 'dealers' turned around, and the male trained his gun on them, while the woman kept hers on the older lady.

"Whoa there, cowboy. This doesn't concern you and uh, Mister Vault-Boy there. We're just trying to get what we're owed here. She pulled her gun on us, we're just making sure she don't use it. Move on." He said.

"It looked like you were threatening her, and that she's having to defend herself!" Preston shouted over, accusing them.

"Look, this woman, Trudy. This is her trading post, we sell her some chems in exchange for food and drink every now and again. We sold her some before and she didn't have all the caps then. We gave her a few days, and when we got back here she pulled her gun on us and said she won't pay us what we're due because her deadbeat son went and used all the chems at once and it had a negative effect on him. Ain't our fault, or our concern! We just want our caps, so we can keep getting by!" the man explained in frustration.

"Well how about we come over there and see if we can find a peaceful solution to this mess ?" Preston asked.

The man paused, and grunted as he considered it.

"Ugh. Fine. Fine! Come on over!"

The group cautiously walked towards the stand-off.

Nate noticed that the man's companion, an African-american woman, still hadn't lowered her weapon, and that she looked way more bloodthirsty than the man.

"Hey! You! Gun down too!" Nate shouted, aiming his rifle at her.

The woman grunted and ignored him, and that really pissed Nate off.

"I won't ask again!"

The man who was with her turned and calmly asked her to put it down. Which, wisely, she did. The older woman in the diner lowered her gun too, but kept her eyes focused on them. The woman in particular.

"Heya...uh, name's Wolfgang, and this is Simone. We're from Goodneighbour-"

"Told ya." Preston muttered, as he was stood next to Nate.

"-Or atleast we used to be. We had a good deal going with Trudy over there for quite a while now, but her kid screwed that up big time. Look, all you gotta do, is get her to pay us 300 caps and then we'll leave her and her junkie son alone. I promise. There doesn't need to be any violence here." He said.

"Alright then. But keep your pal Simone there in check. Lets see if we can't sort this mess out. Codsworth, you and Dogmeat stay here and watch them, just incase these lovely people try something not so clever." Nate replied sarcastically, as he and Preston holstered their weapons and slowly walked towards the Diner door, not wanting to intimidate the woman.

"Hey! _We're_ friendly! And we're not gonna try and hurt you, or your kid!" Nate shouted over, just to try and reassure this woman that bit more.

"You better not, or neither of you will leave here alive!" The woman shouted back.

Nate and Preston, still with their hands raised, walked through the diner door and inside the small building.

Turning to face the still scowling, and pissed off looking lady, Preston introduced himself.

"Hi there, ma'am. My name's Preston, and this here is my buddy, Nate. We're just here to try and solve this...situation, without any bloodshed, okay ? Could you tell us what happened here, and why you're pointing guns at each other ?"

This lady gave him a confused look. "Why ?! Because they've turned into greedy, poison-selling monsters that wanna bleed me and my son dry and that probably wanna take over Drumlin Diner! Which is **MY** damn trading post! That's why!"

"They say that you had a deal with them where they sold you chems in exchange for food and drink, and that they're just trying to get by. They also said that your son had an addiction problem, is that right ?" Preston asked.

"Yeah we did have a deal. But they got my son hooked on Jet, so suddenly and easily, and then they demanded that i pay them! The fact that they have the cheek to ask for caps after their stupid chems messed my boy up is what pissed me off the most! I mean, look he's not some common junkie who's dependant on getting high to get by! He's a good, smart young man who has skills, and charm, and a future! And then that bastard Wolfgang comes along and gets him addicted to chems! No! I won't pay the bastards!" Trudy shouted at him.

"Even if that's all true why did you pull a gun on them when they were just casually approaching the diner then ?" Preston calmly questioned.

"Because they're a risk to me and my sons life now! Hell, they probably wanna finish him off, aswell as me. So that they can get access to all my stock here, and take over my trading post to give themselves a new home! Plus that bitch, Wolfgang's muscle - Simone, she reached for her gun before i'd even raised mine up. She wants a fight! I know it! She's a bitch that enjoys gunfights and killing, i'm sure of it! And Wolfgang, well he only really cares about caps. I just couldn't take the risk, okay!"

"I can understand your caution Miss, but please answer something for me. Did your son ever try any chems before that 'Wolfgang' guy got him addicted on...what did you call it, 'Jet' ?" Nate asked, taking over as the voice of reason.

"N-No, why ?" Trudy asked, puzzled.

"Figures. Miss, don't you think it's just a case of your son getting curious and trying out chems for the first time, because the dealer convinced him to try it just once ?"

The possibility of that being the case obviously hadn't occurred to her up until now.

"I...Well, no...but clearly he pressured him into trying it!" She tried to argue.

Nate shook his head. "Kids just make stupid choices sometimes, i should know. I sure did. You're just acting out of anger. Hell, i'm certain i'd be acting the exact same as you if i were in your position."

"You got kids ?" She asked, her tone lightening.

"Yeah, my little boy, Shaun. He was stolen from me. And the people that took him are gonna wish they hadn't when i find them. You never mess with a parent's child. Ever." Nate confessed to her, parent to parent.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I hope you can find your boy." She said to him.

"Thank you. But look, those two out there-" Nate said, pointing at the dealers. "-They may be guilty of selling your son the chem that's messed him up bad. But your kid was the one that ultimately decided to take it. Now it's your job to be there to help him recover, and to teach him not to do something so foolish a second time. So look, just pay these people what you're due them, and then end the deal you have with them if that's what you want. You'll never have to see them again if you think that's best for you and your kid. No-one needs to die here over a few chems."

Trudy looked back at her son sitting curled up in the corner of the diner and thought about Nate's words. She let out a sigh and made her decision.

"Alright. Alright, fine. I'll pay them." She muttered.

"YOU HEAR THAT, WOLFGANG ? I'LL PAY UP! BUT I DON'T WANT YOUR CHEMS ANYWHERE NEAR MY BOY EVER AGAIN, GOT IT ?!" She shouted over to him.

"THAT'S PERFECT, TRUDY! THAT'S MUSIC TO MY FUCKING EARS! BUT IT WAS HIS FAULT HE ENDED UP LIKE THAT TO BEGIN WITH! I AM SORRY THAT IT CAUSED ALL THIS, AND THAT IT'S AFFECTED OUR DEAL SO BADLY! CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT THIS PEACEFULLY ? Y'KNOW, OUR DEAL DOESN'T HAVE TO END BECAUSE OF THIS!" Wolfgang shouted back, sounding truly apologetic over what had happened.

Again, Trudy looked at her boy and thought about it. "ALRIGHT, FINE! BUT KEEP LITTLE MISS ITCHY TRIGGER FINGER AWAY FROM HER GUN, _AND_ IF I CHOOSE TO END THIS DEAL THEN YOU'D BETTER UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHY IT HAPPENED, AND TO STAY AWAY!"

"THAT'S FAIR! I'LL COME IN THERE ALONE, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS, OKAY!" Wolfgang shouted.

"FINE, COME ON OVER THEN, BUT LEAVE YOUR GUN OUT THERE!" Trudy ordered.

"I'M LEAVING IT HERE, ON THE GROUND, OKAY ? AND I'M GONNA HEAD ON OVER NOW, OKAY ?" Wolfgang yelled, as he left his gun on the ground, true to his word.

"We'll be right outside." Nate said to her, as he and Preston turned to leave the diner.

"Yeah. I'd rather you two stick around until he and i come to an agreement of any kind. Have to be sure i can trust him before i leave myself vulnerable." Trudy replied.

* * *

Nate and Preston stood outside, keeping a watchful eye on Simone. They stood, looking intimidating and engaging in a stare down with her while the two 'traders' worked something out. No-one was really paying attention to what was being said, they only cared that the other party didn't start any trouble.

* * *

Their discussion at an end finally, Trudy walked out of the diner with Wolfgang. Surprisingly having come to peaceful terms.

"Everything alright then, ma'am ?" Preston asked, curious as to what happened.

"I never expected so before you two came over here...but yeah. Wolfgang and i came to...an agreement." Trudy spoke first.

"That we did. See, now we have Trude's permission to go live in that old theatre behind the diner just over there. The new deal, is that we live nearby and act as protection for her. In exchange for our protection, Trudy will give us a bigger cut of whatever she gets." Wolfgang spoke, pointing his thumb over at the giant outdoor cinema screen in the distance.

"And how do we know that you, or your buddy Simone there, won't try to rob or kill Trudy as soon as we're out of view ?" Preston asked him with a warning expression.

"Look man, Simone may have anger issues and seem a bit jumpy with her trigger finger. But that's only cause she's been through some serious shit. Okay! So no. Neither of us will try anything like that! Cross my heart. I respect Trudy too much at this point to let anything like that happen." Wolfgang responded in an understandably pissed off tone.

Preston narrowed his eyes, unsure if he bought that.

"Look...i know we both seem shady, alright ? But you have to believe me. I'm telling you the truth here. This is a new beginning for our relationship with Trudy, and we'll honour it. Will you give us a chance ?" Wolfgang asked

"Depends...are you sure you trust them, ma'am ?" Preston asked Trudy, as she walked over.

"Mmm. Her, no. But him ? Yeah...yeah i think i can trust him. I was so angry before because my son almost fucking killed himself with drugs that Wolfgang sold him...but i realise now, Wolfgang wasn't to blame for that. So i'll give him another chance. And i really do think he'll honour it. But thank you for your concern boys. I won't forget it. So...anytime you two are heading back this way and want to trade, i'll give you both a discount, alright ?" Trudy offered.

Preston and Nate shared a look for a few seconds, and seemed to agree that they felt Trudy was going to be safe, and didn't need them to stay to make sure of that. And that a discount would be great!

"That would be wonderful Trudy. We're grateful, truly. But i think we'd best be off now. Unfortunately, we have other matters to attend to, that simply can't be postponed much longer. You take care now, y'hear ?" Nate said. Whilst Preston offered a smile and tipped his hat to her.

"No. Thank you. Both of you. I won't forget what you did for me today. Anytime you need anything, you come on by. Y'hear ?" Trudy told them.

"We will, ma'am. Happy to help. Take care." Preston said.

The two men turned back to Wolfgang. "If you truly honour this new deal you've made, then take care, and good luck to you two aswell." Nate said.

"I will. Thank you both for helping Trudy and i get here. Me and Simone, uh...we're in your debt too. Can't express how grateful i truly am. But be careful out there, yeah. Not everyone chooses to do the right thing these days." Wolfgang warned them.

"We know. Take care. So long." Preston said as he and Nate walked away, offering a wave goodbye. Motioning for Codsworth and Dogmeat to follow them. Ignoring an uncaring Simone as they walked back onto the road leading towards Lexington...

* * *

 _A few minutes later..._

As the group continued walking down the road towards Lexington they soon walked up to a large, and mostly intact blue trailer sat right in the middle of the road, and as they reached the rusted Truck at the other end of the trailer they suddenly heard a loud hydraulic-type noise! And then another, and another! These noises, they sounded familiar.

Nate stopped and held his fist up again. As Preston walked over to Nate's side again, Nate had suddenly realised "That sound...it's really familiar...That's someone walking around in Power Armor up ahead!"

Preston's expression quickly became one of worry. He looked at Nate who quietly reminded him. "You said there was a raider using Power Armor in Lexington. What're the chances this is that raider ahead ?"

Racking his brain for answers as he thought about it, he answered. "Slim. The raiders there had a pretty stable setup. I don't think they'd need to scavenge parts from trailers."

Nate shook his head and replied - "I don't want to take any chances. I say on my signal we rush over and aim our guns at the person, regardless of whoever they are. Make sure they don't have a chance to blow our heads off. Luckily, i know the weak points of Power Armor, just on the off-chance they turn hostile to us. But if they're peaceful we can just apologise and move on, let them get on with their day."

Preston didn't seem confident with the plan though. "And if they have friends ?"

"We'll have the drop on them." Nate assured him.

"Alright..." Preston answered, still unsure on this move.

Nate looked back at him and said. "On three...1...2...3!"

At that both Preston and Nate ran out from the side of the truck and aimed their guns at the person in Power Armor. This person however was too busy sticking his head under the hood of the truck to notice the two, he seemed to be admiring the engine.

This gave them their first look at the power armored person, and both men were somewhat glad to find that this person was alone for a start.

The Power Armored person had their back to the two men still. So Nate took the opportunity to signal Preston to stay quiet, so that he could focus and get a look at what model the person's Power Armor was.

Looking at the shoulder plates, Nate quickly recognised them as T-60 plates. The newest, and strongest Power Armor available before the bombs fell.

"Shit." Nate thought. "Alright. Best try and remove his fusion core then."

Preston however noticed something about the armor plates too, they had a flame-like paint-job, Preston then looked at the Armor's legs, and they had the same design too.

It finally hit him! Preston recognised that paint-job! This was one of the Atom Cats!

And as if on cue, the person suddenly spoke up, apparently speaking to himself - "Ah! Just the part i was looking for. The guys back at the garage are gonna fliiiip."

Recognising that voice, Preston realised that he knew exactly which Atom Cat this was too! So, without warning Nate first, Preston spoke out to him and gave them away.

"Duke ?"

Which led Nate to practically hiss "Preston!"

But Preston quickly reassured his friend. "It's alright Nate, you don't have to worry. I know this man."

"Wait. What ?"

The power-armored man turned his head to look at them both, and then focused his gaze on Preston and chuckled -"Well, well! If it ain't the coolest cat in the Minutemen! How's it going, Preston ?" 'Duke' said

"It's been a long time, Duke. Surprised to see you all the way out here." Preston replied

Duke turned the rest of his body to face them and explained his reasons for bring here - "Oh, i'm just scavving for new parts to trick out our Power Armor with. Who's your friend ?" Duke asked, referring to Nate.

"This is my new friend, Nate Johnson. He saved my live, and many others up in Concord, and he gave us a new home. He's a good man." Preston answered, sounding proud as he spoke of Nate.

"Hot damn, he's already a cool cat in my eyes then. Nice to meet you, Nate. Any friend of Preston's is a friend of mine. Name's Duke, of the Atom Cats." Duke introduced himself, offering a big power-armored handshake.

Nate's attitude lightened, and he shook the metal hand, replying "Pleasure to meet you, Duke. You said you're an 'Atom Cat' ? Who are the Atom Cats exactly, is that a community, or a group of folk out here ? It's an interesting name." Nate asked curiously.

"We're just a small group of cats that run the coolest garage in the Commonwealth. My friends and i soup up old Power Armor, we strip 'em down to the bare beauty underneath and build 'em back up with some additional improvements. Y'know like, give 'em rockin' new paintjobs or weld on new sleeves to style them out. We take any old car parts and use them for our own suits, ya dig ? And we have some groovy metal suits like you have _never_ seen." putting emphasis on 'never'

Hearing that, Nate took a moment to admire the Atom Cat's paint-job his armor sported.

* * *

Duke's suit of T-60 Power-Armor had a very fresh, and shiny new paint-job covering the entire suit. Every piece of armor on the suit had been painted with this beautiful Chrome Black.

The upper half of the arms, along with the thigh area were a medium dark shade of maroon red.

The lower halves of the arms and leg pieces, aswell as the chest piece and the shoulder pieces were all covered with this orange-ish yellow flame design which had these small bright coloured lines of pink, light blue, purple and light green that were going on the 'edges' of the flame design.

And in the centre of the chest piece was this logo of a smiling cat with an mushroom cloud behind it and the words 'Atom Cats' surrounding the top section of the logo, with the name ' _ **Duke - Scav**_ ' on the bottom section.

* * *

"Sounds like a interesting place, i've worked on Power Armor myself in the past, but i've never tried my hand at any paint-jobs. Maybe one day i'll look you guys up." Nate replied.

"Yeah, you seem like a cool cat. You should totally check out our digs some time. Our machines are something to see, Jack. Maybe in return you'll show us how to make hot babies like the one you're holding ?" Duke asked, referring to Nate's M16.

"Hmm ?...Oh!" Nate responded, not getting his meaning at first. "Yeah, sure. I could show you and your people a thing or two in exchange for lessons in how to paint up my power armor if i decide i want that."

"Groovy. So, what're you and Preston doing cruising about out here then ?" Duke asked.

"Pest extermination." Was Nate's simple response.

Preston gave a small laugh and explained for Duke. "Nate's not wrong, to be honest. Our goal right now is to try and take out all the raiders living in Lexington right now. They've been getting far too close to coming across our new home, and they already got to other settlements nearby." Preston told him, and had to stop mid-explanation as a shudder of disgust went down his spine, not wanting to even think for more than a second about what he had to say next.

"-And they...they've already put a young woman in a wheelchair, and strong-armed her family's farm into growing food for them. They found another place too, where they killed a man, beat another half to death...and worst of all, they kidnapped a woman and were gonna take turns raping her...just for fun, y'know...just because they could!"

He took a moment to calm himself down, realising how worked up and angry he'd gotten just thinking about it.

Preston cleared his throat and continued what he was saying "So, me and Nate, aswell as Nate's Mister Handy - Codsworth, and his dog - are planning on sneaking into Lexington, hopefully dealing with the Ferals there quickly and without much hassle, and our plan after that is to try and sneak into the sewer system on the east side of town, leading underneath the old factory at the top of the town where the raider leaders are staying right now. When we get inside we're gonna do our best to take out every single raider in there, in any way we can. We have to! We can't just let these raiders continue doing this type of shit to the good people who are just trying to live their lives!"

Duke tilted his head with an accompanying groan. Showing how unsure he was of the success of their plan.

"Well those are certainly good intentions, but you cats will lose all nine lives if you go in there without better claws, or without any power-armor." Duke warned them.

"We _had_ a suit of Power Armor, T-45 edition. But that suit is far too damaged to risk losing in the fight here." Preston confessed, sounding disappointed.

"Why not head to the Diamond Ass-crack and buy some top-notch armor there ?" Duke suggested.

Nate figured that he was referring to Diamond City and how much he apparently disliked it, but looking at the suited man in front of him, Nate decided to try his luck. He shared a brief look with Preston and then asked -

"Would you help us, Duke ?"

"Ah...gee, i don't know, Jack. I only really scavenge parts for our garage, this cat doesn't like to sharpen his claws in a lions den. Plus i've already gotta haul these parts back home."

"Duke, listen i can respect that you don't want to get involved in fights that aren't yours, but just think about it like this - That old factory in Lexington, that was a Corvega Car Factory before the War, and there's gotta be hundreds of cars and hundreds of car parts still sitting in there, parts in much better condition than ones out here, and they're just going to waste with those raiders in possession of them. So here's the deal i'm going to offer you."

Duke already felt tempted, but he need to hear more.

"-If you help us take out the raiders currently living there, then you'll have access to _ALL_ of them. All those cars, all those engines, and all those parts. An added benefit is there's no real risk to you, as you're wearing that suit of Power-Armor, more specifically you're wearing a T-60 variant too! The strongest variant there is! If that's not enough, just know that you'll have us right there beside you the whole time. We can do this, together! We'll kill some rapists, save any prisoners they may have, and take any spare resources we can find. Hell, if we win then we all get a reward out of it - Unlimited car parts, for you. Safety for innocent people, for Preston. And for me. My reward ? Killing monsters. So c'mon Duke, you could help us finish this much quicker and do humanity a real favour here! You could bring in a huge haul of parts for your garage and all your buddies would love you for it! I promise you wouldn't regret it! So...what d'you say, friend ?"

Duke took a minute to think it over.

"Hmm...Damn! You know what ? I like you, Nate. And Preston has always been a really cool cat to me...and I suppose you're right. Heck, we would be doing humanity a big favour, wouldn't we ? And it would make a lot of good folk safer. Yeah...cause those pricks would try and get their mitts on anything, even the Cats sanctuary! Heh! Alright, alright, alright! Count me in, Jack! After what you've just said, i'll gladly help. Besides, letting you guys go in alone would probably mean certain death for you both, and it'd be really uncool of me to let that happen. So i'll come, and i'll protect you from the storm of shit behind door A."

He reached behind him and grabbed his weapon - a modified rapid-fire scoped combat rifle with a long barrel, a short stock and a compensator. It was matte black in colour all over, and had the same flame pattern his armor had.

"Thank you, Duke. Genuinely. I truly mean that." Preston said, flashing a grateful smile his way.

"No problem, fellas. Now. lets go rustle those wet rags jimmies and slay the lot of 'em." Duke said.

Nate found this guys choices of words...odd. Unique, but odd.

...

Now accompanied by Duke, of the 'Atom Cats', the group travelled closer and closer towards Lexington. And within five minutes they were now passing by the Slocum's Joe Dunkin' Donuts shop, headed right into the centre of town, but they were on high alert as Preston reminded them the area was crawling with Feral Ghouls the last time he was here, which was only recently...

Except there was a worrying issue. The centre of the town was completely quiet, completely devoid of life...empty...and it was getting dark, quickly.

"This doesn't feel right. This doesn't feel right at all. There were enough ferals to fill the town before. Now it's completely empty ? Nah, i don't like this." Preston admitted, worryingly.

"Do these ferals sleep, or hunt ? Do they settle down in ruins like these or do they move from place to place ?" Nate quickly asked.

"I-I've never seen ferals sleeping myself, but i've heard stories that say they do. It might well be possible. But they don't really hunt per-say, they just attack anything within range when they wander about the commonwealth, and some move from place to place constantly but others just seem to bunker down in one location and practically hibernate there." Preston answered.

Nate began to slowly look around in every direction, and then, sounding nervous, he asked - "Is there any chance these ferals are the 'move on' type ?"

"Honestly, i really fucking hope so, Nate. This feels like a trap." Preston replied as he looked around also.

"We'd see 'em coming, or hear 'em before they got close though, right ?" Nate asked, trying to reassure himself that they'd be fine.

"Yeah, of course. But it's not a surprise attack i'm worried about. It's their numbers that worries me, we could get swarmed in seconds if there's too many of them." Preston answered.

"Well what advantage do we hav-Wait. Duke, does your helmet have a functional Target Scanner ?" Nate suddenly thought to ask.

"That it does, Daddy-O!" Duke answered, not sounding worried in the slightest as he flicked it down, ready to scan the area.

"Good. Could you scan for any life signs nearby other than us ?"

"Sure thing, Jack. Alrigh-Shit. Multiple. There's multiple signs."

That put the men back into a nervous state once again. So Nate asked. "Well where are you picking them up from ?"

"Um..." Duke oddly answered.

"Duke..." Nate said sounding demanding, not liking the response he got.

"I'm picking life signs up from all around us, fellas. In every damn building in this town. My scanner detects movement, but i can't scan for any body heat whatsoever." Codsworth finally confessed.

"Fuck. Guys! I'm so sorry, I forgot before, but well...i think i remember my commander once telling us that...well, apparently ferals don't produce any internal body heat whatsoever, and so as a result they don't show up on scanners...so we need to be extra careful!" Preston lowly warned his group.

"Seriously ? Shit. Alright then, and i think that goes without saying, but it also kinda puts a plug in our plan, and it's getting darker faster than we hoped it would be." Nate asked.

"I know man, shit...okay, how about we go ahead and just find the entrance to the sewers leading underneath the factory and just forget about the ferals for now?"

"Alright, sounds good. Lets just get this over and done with." Nate said, as the group started cautiously walking towards the south-east side of the town.

As they walked Preston couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, like someone was watching them...and he was right to feel that way!

Suddenly a gunshot rang out!

And then another, and another! Gunshots continued to be fired, but no bullets were whizzing by their feet, like they'd expected by now...

"Fuck! Goddammit! Retreat! Retreat!" Nate ordered to his group as they ran back the way they just came.

"Fucking hell! Oh, shit! SHIT! We gotta get outta view and hidden! Right damn now!" Preston yelled at his group in full panic mode, quickly explaining why.

"-All those ferals will have just been woken up and they'll be on the move right now because of those gunshots! They'll start to swarm the area any second! We gotta get off the street now, or we're as good as dead!"

"Well what about the rooftops ?" Duke suggested.

"I don't think your suit would fit up the stairs, Duke! Shit! Nate?! Did you ever come here before the war ? Look man, cause if you did can you think of anywhere that can keep us safe for the moment ?!" Preston asked, practically begging him for ideas.

Nate tried to focus and think, while also constantly looking out for these 'ferals' He'd yet to see!

"Tha-The, uh...The Super-Duper Mart! It has a safety gate in front of the entrance we can slide shut to keep us safe from any ferals that see us! It looks like a curved jail cell door, but hell it'll still be a perfect barrier between us and them!" Nate shouted out, hearing low growls turn into blood-gurgling, demonic screams in the buildings around them, attracted by the still-constant gunfire.

Preston seemed like he had his head focused on something else, and seemed oddly hesitant about the suggestion. But he quickly threw that concern away when he heard the noises around them. "Alright, good. Lets just hope it's safe enough for us there then!" Preston replied as the group bee-lined for the Super-Duper Mart close by.

The group ran up to the front doors and the two soldiers looked to the sides of the small conservatory section built around the doors, finally finding them and pulling them closed, although one door took some extra force to move. Regardless, both were shut together.

At first Nate was gonna ask Duke to just hold the doors together with his power armor, but was glad to find a better option! He noticed a small unlocked padlock hanging onto one of the doors. So then, through shaky hands and the state of panic they were all in, Nate was the one who managed to click it into its slot and seal the gate shut.

"There! There, it's locked tight! I think it should keep them out...it'll hold them back...it should, right Preston ?" Nate asked, looking for reassurance from him.

Preston once again, seemed distant before snapping back to reality. "Wha-Oh. Y-Yeah. Yeah, It should hold them back man...okay, but listen, we gotta lower our voices, incase-" Preston gave some thought to what he just said. "-Actually, on second thought. Don't say a word. Don't even move until we can be sure they've all moved far enough away from us. Got it ?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, or signalled in some way to show that they understood.

The sound of more demonic screams sounded closer to them right now. There must've been some of these ferals just around the corner from here...

There was another noise nearby.

Nate moved, so that he was kneeling right next to Preston. "I can hear footsteps close by, more than one. Hell, more than five. All moving really fucking fast." He whispered as quietly as possible.

"I hear it too man. But we gotta stay quiet, and wait to see if they pass by us first. If they spot us then atleast we still have this gate between us and them. But right now, we just need to stay quiet!" Whispered back Preston.

A few more tense seconds later, the footsteps and groaning grew so close that it felt like these ferals were literally ten steps away from their position. Nate was feeling pretty terrified about what may happen next.

Another scream, this one more intense than before, and then Nate saw something...deformed looking, dart off towards the shooting, where they'd been only a minute ago!

He moved closer to the gate to get a better look at this 'Feral Ghoul' he'd heard so much about. From what he could see it looked like the shape of a normal person, just with a hunched back and a very thin figure, dressed in tattered, raggedy clothes. But Nate couldn't make out anymore of its features, as it was too far away now.

Suddenly there were screams from all around them, followed by rapid footsteps and growls. And atleast eleven more ferals ran past them in that direction!

As he watched them run by he tried to get a good look at their appearances.

"Christ..." Nate muttered lowly, his heart beating rapidly at the terror he was experiencing right now.

He saw that the skin of these ghouls was either peeling, burnt, rotten or a sick combination of the three...Muscle, bone, hell...even small sections of brain were exposed. Any hair left on their heads was only left in a few strands or patches, and their bodies were almost skeletal in appearance. Worst of all, all of these ghouls running past were covered in blood. Some of the blood dried, some of the blood quite fresh. These were truly the things of nightmares. Plucked straight from Hell itself, just like the Deathclaw of Concord.

"My god...Shaun is out here, in a world like this ?" Nate found himself thinking.

But, to their **extreme** luck, all those ferals had ran right past them, not even noticing them hidden mere feet away. Too distracted by the shooting in the distance to search for other sources of food.

The group waited there another minute, just to be safe. Silently listening to the screams and shooting in the distance.

"Right, what do we do now ?" Nate asked. "Because even though we _are_ safe right now, we're also trapped here because one of the doors is dodgy and won't budge, ergo we'd need Duke to break the doors off if we want back out that way. _**Except** _ doing that takes away _this_ safe spot and could alert those fucking things! So, i suggest we go inside the Super-Duper Mart and find another exit. That a decent plan, man ? Cause you're my go-to guy now when it comes to what the best approach is in this new world."

Preston looked at the double doors leading into the Super-Duper Mart and gulped, replying - "Look, i don't exactly wanna be out in the open right now. But i also don't wanna go in there either..." Preston said, confusing Nate.

Nate looked at him. "Why, Preston ?"

"I..."

"Look, i trust you man, and you know you can trust me. So please, just tell me why you think it'd be a bad idea." Nate told him.

"I, uh...Before. When we came through here before, my group...we all hid in there to hide from the Raiders, but unbeknownst to us, this place was like a goddamn nest for those filthy fucking ferals. When we were resting up, the ferals surprise attacked us. We killed a whole load of 'em, but at the same time we lost about three or four of our people in there. I...i don't know if i'm ready...i don't know if i'll ever be ready t...to see what happened to them. Okay ? Not to mention there could still be a whole load of ferals still hiding inside..." Preston told him, recounting one of his many 'failings'.

"Oh...damn. Look, i'm sorry to hear that man. Truly, i am. Look, if you want to stay here while we go check inside, and check to make sure it's clear of any ferals, then you do that. And if there's some ferals in there then maybe we can clear this whole place out, and then...maybe we can atleast bury the fallen." Nate told him, raising his hands up and saying. "No judgement passed if you wanna stay out here, i'd completely understand. But we need to get out of this area quietly, and as soon as possible."

Preston crouched down and held his head in his hands as he thought about what he should do. He gave it a few hard minutes of thought.

"I'm not sure i ever want to see what happened to their bodies...but it'd be wrong of me to just leave their bodies here to rot, or to leave the bodies to get be eaten by the ferals later. That's not the Minutemen way. We don't do things that way, never have done. And...and i suppose it'll atleast get this off my conscience, and help me on my way to recovering and starting over...so uh, yeah...i'm gonna go in with you guys, just please be alert in there, yeah ?"

"Okay man." Nate said softly, and then proceeded to ask. "But what's our plan for when he get out of this place ? Going back into the centre, on the way to where the sewer entrance is, well...right now that shit is certain death! And we cannot risk wandering out from underneath the highway and sneaking around back from the direction we came from, otherwise the snipers and lookouts will instantly spot us. We certainly can't march up to the front door just yet either. So what exactly can we do ?"

Preston sat and thought about it. "Mmm, well...I say we take the most stealthy approach possible, and by that i mean we get outta town and circle closely around the outskirts and try and sneak on into the sewer entrance while the raiders on watch down here are busy fighting that feral horde. It's certainly still risky, but remember, it was still our original plan to use the sewers anyways, and it's still the best choice we have, even right now!"

"Fair point. Should've thought about that myself. Either way, that sounds good. But for now, for this moment...we have got to focus on getting through here in one piece first." Nate said, nodding toward the entrance to the supermarket.

Preston took a few deep breaths, to mentally prepare himself for what came next.

"Alright. Let's go." He said, being the first to open the doors.

...

As he peered inside, Preston looked around and saw just how dark this place was now that sunset was upon them. He really hated how quiet it was in here. And he was mentally kicking himself for having to do this.

When the others followed him inside they took a moment to observe their surroundings.

"Right, listen close team. We stick together the entire time. We move slowly, and we check every isle, every corner, every single crack, yeah ? Fucking check everywhere you possibly can. We cannot risk being snuck up on. We should head towards the loading bay. Best way outta here i reckon. Dogmeat, stay close to me, boy." Nate cautioned as the team slowly started moving to head down the isles.

"Let the metal maestro take point, fellas." Duke said, moving to front of the group. Offering to be the first one to be seen by any lunging ferals, so as to save his friends.

"I shall take up the rear, chaps!" Codsworth added.

With that the group walked cautiously to the right, moving over to the corner near the frozen section and following that isle up towards the cafe area. All of them had a few scares each time they came across a dead feral corpse laying on the floor that had been well hidden, thinking it was a sleeping one trying to trick them.

They proceeded, and as they passed the dairy isle, Preston noticed something and went to investigate. When he walked over he let a shocked gasp loose from his lips, followed by a regretful sigh. He'd just found a customised Minuteman Militia hat, which he recognised as Anthony's hat, which belonged to a member of Preston's squad. It was torn at the sides and covered in blood. Blood that looked shockingly fresh. Did this happen recently ? A few hours ago ? Could he have saved Anthony if they'd gotten here sooner ?

"Goddammit..." Preston let out under his breath.

He took the hat with him and regrouped, and they proceeded to move towards the cafe area. As they neared the cafe area, they all stopped to observe the huge hole in the now partly collapsed ceiling, which caused them all to wonder if the rest of the ceiling would come down like this anytime in the near future...

They walked over to the cafe area, and were quickly startled by a weak sounding moan from behind the till counter. Preston motioned to the group that he would go deal with the source of the noise, while they watched his back.

As he slowly crept closer he tried to keep himself calm, and composed. He moved around the side and cautiously edged closer to the counter entrance.

He tilted forward and looked over the other side from behind the safety of the barrier. He saw..." ** _Anthony ?!_** "

Preston has just found one of the members of his Minutemen squad, whom he'd previously thought to be dead. And he couldn't quite believe it...

...

Anthony had left the SDM with two other Minutemen on Preston's orders, to scout nearby for any safe places for the refugees to head to next while Preston and the group enjoyed that temporary rest...Only thing is, Anthony and his group were late in reporting back to Preston while they were still resting in this place, and even worse, they **still** hadn't reported back when the ferals made their surprise attack. Preston had just assumed they'd died out in the commonwealth, and that was why they didn't come back...

Which Preston realised must mean that the trio had indeed came back here to find the Mart filled with dead feral corpses, but also sleeping ferals awaiting them...aswell as no group to report to. Only to be attacked not long after!

...

Preston approached Anthony's still body and turned his unconscious form to face him. When he did that he saw the extent of the damage the ferals had inflicted upon this poor man. Anthony was missing a few fingers, and an ear. He had deep looking gashes and cuts all over his body, particularly on his face. How he wasn't in a worse state was anyone's guess at this moment.

"...Preston...is th-that...you ?" Anthony weakly asked, through small breaths.

Preston's heart jumped at the sound of his voice, and his head darted round to look Anthony in the eyes...or rather, to look him in his good eye.

"Anthony! You're alive!? Oh thank god! I'm so sorry this happened! We got attacked and had to run for it, and...Ugh, that's not important right now! We gotta get you up and outta here, i left you once. I won't do it again!" Preston defiantly said.

"Too...many ferals...just...put me do-down...and run." Anthony told him, making it evident just how badly his condition was.

"No. I won't! I can't...i couldn't live with myself if i didn't get you outta here!" Then an equally terrifying thought came across his mind. "Anthony, what happened to Josh and Emma ? Did they make it back here too ? Are they still here ? What happened to them man, cause if they're here i need to know."

Though it seemed to pain him a great deal, Anthony nodded to Preston and told him. "We all came...back together, and...Josh was looking through the...the offices, and...Emma...Emma stayed in the load...loading bay."

Preston registered the information, he knew where the offices and loading bay were. He'd ask the group if they'd help of course, not wanting to force them to stay if they didn't want to. But whatever they said, he would stay and get Josh and Emma out of here too. Whether they were alive or dead, he had to see it through. He couldn't leave them here if there was a chance they were still alive, and hiding somewhere.

"Alright, we're gonna check for them then. We'll get you outta here though, you're not gonna die here today. Not a chance! Lets get you up." Preston said, as he made sure to gently lift Anthony up onto his feet.

"Thank...thank you, P-Preston." He said.

Preston turned and looked at his group. "I don't know if you heard what Anthony said or-"

Nate cut him off there "We heard, Preston. Now, i don't speak for Duke here. But you don't need to ask us. Me, or Codsworth i mean. We wouldn't be able to live with mercy killing or leaving behind a person who can still make it out alive. You've got two more friends who might still be in this place somewhere, so lets go find them and get them outta here before we deal with those raiders."

"Thank you, you guys. I'm lucky to have people like you as friends in this world." Preston thanked them, and turned to Duke.

"Cats have a code, Daddy-O. Never leave a cat behind who still has any of his nine lives. And these cats still have plenty balls of yarn to chase after." Duke said.

Preston had to hide a smile at Duke's words. He had to admit, that was what he loved about the Atom Cats, their unique combination of words.

Duke offered to carry Anthony, and Preston agreed, figuring it'd be easier for Duke to carry him anyway.

"Alright, lets head towards the offices. But stay alert. We could still run into some ferals in here." Preston reminded everyone.

The group turned and walked slowly towards the other end of the store, with Nate leading. But as they reached the door into the staff section Nate suddenly stopped and signalled for the group to halt.

"Sir ?" Codsworth asked.

"You hear that ?" Nate asked.

Everyone went quiet and focused, joining in listening for what Nate heard.

"Yeah, i do." Preston replied from the back of the group. "Sounds like a voice. A somewhat muffled, male voice! It's coming from behind that door, i think. That could be Josh!"

Nate called Preston over to him - "Maybe. Hey, Preston. C'mere."

Preston moved over to him and Nate explained what he needed him here for. "I'm gonna open this door. Cover me while i do, just incase any ferals are through there ready to rush us. Then, unless we hear any growls nearby, i'm gonna run through the door and check down the hall to the left, i want you to run in after me and check the right. Once we can be sure it's clear and safe to move we head towards that voice we hear. Ready ?"

"Got it, and yeah i'm ready." Preston replied.

"On three! 1...2...3...Go." Nate said as he yanked the door open and held it there.

"Clear!" Preston said to him, the level of his voice somewhere between whispering and yelling.

"Alright, move." Nate replied in the same level of tone as he ran through the doorway, turned left and crouched down, beginning to scan the area directly ahead of him. He felt Preston's presence behind him not a second later.

"I don't see any ferals, although there are a lot of side rooms i can't see inside from here." Preston quickly informed Nate.

"I got nothing either, so far. But there's a few shelves to one side that some could be resting near." Nate replied.

"Some ferals are smart enough to hide under shelves or behind containers. So keep your guard up at all times." Preston warned him.

"Hmm. Codsworth, scan the radius for any heat signatures other than us. Should've asked you to do that when we came in here to be honest. We need to know if we can relax for the moment or not."

Codsworth emitted a low beeping pulse noise for a few seconds, before finishing his scan and informing the group - "Apart from one down the hallway you are facing down sir, there are no heat signatures detected. We seem to be in the clear for the moment."

Preston quickly interrupted, reminding him - "Nate. Remember what i said back in the town centre. Ferals don't produce any body heat anymore...so there's still very much a chance that we're not alone in here..." Preston said, taking a concerned look around the hallways.

"Oh yeah...well, shit...we're just gonna have to be extra careful. Hmm, okay well, Codsworth...next task for ya, buddy. Any chance you can try and use that long-range hearing function of yours again, and try to hear what the muffled voice is saying. Is there any chance you could hear it clearly and play what you hear for us through your speaker module ? It could really be a benefit to us right now."

"Certainly, sir!"

Codsworth revealed and aimed his little dish again, and within a moment there was suddenly an ear piercing static noise. Which Codsworth quickly explained meant that someone was recording a holotape.

But in that moment of explanation, a new voice was heard. A man's voice. A worried voice. The man sounded like he was mid-way through talking about something already -

* * *

"-ere lucky to escape that Mystic Pines place with our lives! We thought we'd found an empty place to use for atleast a few days, but the damn place was inhabited by two goddamned Yao Guai! Never ran as fast as we did right then. We came back yesterday to re-group. Me, Anthony and Emma. But everyone's gone, and it looks like they had one hell of a fight and had to run for their lives.

We found feral corpses everywhere along with some...god...some fresh looking human remains and torn, bloodied clothes, couldn't tell who they were...god rest their poor souls. Anyway, Anthony and I decided to search for anything that might tell us where they went. While we searched i sent Emma down to the loading docks to wait for us. We didn't wanna stay long, but some more damn ferals showed up and spotted us. We both panicked and ran. Anthony and i separated in the process though, i hid in the nearest crate i could find and prayed. But i..."

Subtle sobs could be heard. "-But i heard those ferals growling an-and then i heard Anthony screaming...then it all went quiet...Anthony's dead now and it's my fault. Emma...god i hope she ran. I'd been hiding in that crate since. But the ferals...i-i heard them leaving here in a hurry after that shooting in the distance, whole reason i'm recording this now is that if i don't make it, and if Preston comes back for us one day, then atleast he'll know what happened to us. But anyway when those ferals left i climbed out and now i'm gonna try and make a run for it, but i'm gonna try and get Anthony's body out of here. Give him a burial atleast. He deserves that."

Preston's expression said exactly how he felt about hearing Josh's story. So he started moving towards Josh's location, taking note of just how much blood covered the stores floor, but he stupidly didn't notice the tin can near his feet and ended up kicking it across the floor. Cursing himself to Concord and back.

"And then i-Wait! Oh Shit...The ferals are back! Fuck me!"

* * *

The transmission cut off immediately and the sound of someone moving about in a hurry and opening and closing a wooden crate was heard just at the end of the hall.

Preston cursed to himself. "Shit. Josh! Josh, it's Preston! I'm here man! So is Anthony!" he suddenly shouted, starting to jog towards Josh's position.

"Preston! Christ man, could you be any louder ?! Pull yourself together man! You'll attract those ferals right back here man!" Nate hissed as he looked around in sudden panic.

"I know, and i'm sorry man, but if i just walk up to the crate and knock on it i'm liable to get my damn head blown off. Let's just move quickly, alright ?"

Nate just nodded and the group ran after him into the room where Josh was, which they discovered was filled with identical wooden crates. But Preston knew which one to check, pointing out the discarded Laser Musket on the floor next to one.

"Josh, come out! It's me man, it's Preston! It's safe now!" Preston called out.

The lid of the wooden crate slowly creaked open revealing a pair of eyes, and then a man rose up out of it, standing fully upright. Looking on in shock. "Preston ?! Is it really you ?"

"Josh...hey man! It's so good to see you again! Thank god you're alright!" Preston replied with a big grin.

The man. Josh. He was clearly bewildered and slowly started to approach the group.

"Preston, y-you're still alive! And, and...An-" And at this point Josh noticed Anthony in Duke's arms. " _ **ANTHONY !?**_ Shit! Fucking shit, Anthony! Is-is he...?"

"He's alive man, but barely. We're gonna need to get him medical attention as soon as possible. But i couldn't, no...wouldn't leave here without looking for you and Emma first." Preston replied.

"Oh thank god! Oh...Oh, man, I...god, thank you Preston! Thank you so much. I truly owe you my life brother, and i won't ever forget this. Bu-but i don't know if Emma's still here or not. Last i saw of her she was in the loading bay, and even then, that was _yesterday_!"

Preston nodded. "Well then that's where we head next."

"Wait, Preston...W-what about the others, who else made it out of here with you ?"

Preston's grin quickly went away.

"I-uh. I'm the only Minuteman left apart from you and Anthony that's...that's still here...Jack, he...he got killed up in Concord by raiders. The Quincy refugees all made it though."

"Oh...ju...damn. Aw man, oh poor Jack, man...okay, well, uh...if the refugees are still alive, then why are you...why are you here and not still with them ?" Josh asked.

"Because my new friends here saved us." Preston said, pointing to Nate, Codsworth and Dogmeat, naming them as he did. "Without their help, we'd of all been killed by those raiders too. And after they saved us, they took us back to their home. An old neighbourhood that's the perfect place to live and start over in. They invited us to stay there permanently, and they gave us a roof over our heads. I'm...words can't express how eternally grateful i am to them." Preston said looking at them with a smile.

"Once Nate cleared out some raiders to help out some folk nearby, we went to the Abernathy Farm, and they asked if we could take out the raiders here in Lexington to make all our lives much easier. No easy task, i know. But we're certainly gonna try. Then we bumped into Duke on the way here, and he agreed to help us take them out. Then when we got into town ferals forced us in here, and even though i was truly afraid of seeing what'd happened to those poor souls that died here...i came anyway, and then as luck would have it, we found Anthony. After that i decided that we had to find you and Emma too. Now we've found you and i'm so glad its all happened this way. I'm so glad you and Anthony are alive man! Now. Pick up your laser musket, and lets go look for Emma and get ya'll outta here. Alright ?" Preston ordered with a relieved smile.

Josh took a moment to process all the information he'd just heard. He picked up his laser musket, smiled, saluted and replied "Sir, yes sir! Lets get the hell outta this damn place."

He then turned to Nate and asked. "Nate, right ? Look, i want to thank you for saving my friends and letting them into your home, sir. You didn't need to, most folks wouldn't have. But you did, and i really respect that. So, way i figure is that i owe you a few beers now, you hear ?"

Nate smiled at him. "No thanks necessary, man. Just did what i thought was right. Didn't need all that space to myself, and i couldn't let innocents be hurt. You and Anthony and Emma, if we find her, are welcome to stay aswell, of course. And hell, one day i'll take you up on that offer of a few beers, buddy. Thanks."

"Sir..." Codsworth suddenly said, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, Codsworth ?"

"Company..."

The group were suddenly put on edge by the loud, heart-stopping sounds of growling, gurgling and snarling coming from the other end of the hallway.

"Fuck!" Preston shouted. "They must've been hiding or resting in those back rooms after all! Aw Shit! Duke! Duke, give me Anthony and do your thing!"

"Yeah, good call." Duke replied, very quickly realising what Preston meant.

"We need to get to the loading bay, we can get outta here through there, and hopefully Emma could still be down there aswell! So we have to fight our way through these ferals and get down there!" Preston called out to the group.

Ferals began to appear up ahead, just down the hall, and these ones were looking all the more deformed and demon like. They spotted the group and started sprinting towards them. Blood gurgling screams filling the once quiet building.

Nate felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he readied his rifle to open fire, while simultaneously trying to keep himself calm.

But Duke put his giant metal hand on top of Nate's rifle and lowered it down.

"Don't waste the bullets, Daddy-O. Big ol' Duke will clear a way to the loading bay, so do keep up. Now...these brain-dead melts are about to board the pain-train to deads-vile!" Duke said, as he lent forwards, angling his shoulder towards the charging ferals and started charging towards them himself.

The group were amazed as one by one the charging ferals were violently flung aside by the sheer power of Duke's armor.

"Shit...shit, he's really doing it! He's clearing a path for us! Everyone, hurry!" Preston called out. The men all started running after Duke while the ferals were laying crumpled on the bloodied floor.

Nate and Codsworth took up the rear of the group and Nate even took the chance to shoot a couple of ferals in the head while they were down. For all their terrifying qualities, these ferals were still once humans, and thus could still be killed from a bullet to the head.

The group continued to follow Duke around a corner and down a tight hallway and through a few barged open doors, and they knew they couldn't stop running until they reached the loading bay, as they all could hear more ferals screaming from nearby rooms, indicating that more ferals were returning here, and in greater numbers. Putting them all more on edge each second that passed.

"Down here, dudes and dudettes!" Duke called out as he ran past a sign above a set of stairs heading down that read 'Loading Bay 1 & 2'

They all followed him down the stairs except for Nate who turned around, ready to fire his M16 into the oncoming ferals. When he turned fully around he saw atleast twelve or thirteen ferals all charging in a pack towards him. It was indeed a terrifying sight.

But he had time, and a fair amount of distance to take advantage of!

Nate began to focus as hard as he could once more, even closing his eyes momentarily...and when he opened them, time had slowed down for him. He'd successfully activated his V.A.T.S again.

He targeted as many ferals as possible, some in the head and others in the legs, as it was difficult for him to target vitals areas of each individual one as they were all so close together. But hell, he would try anyway.

Nate let V.A.T.S aim his arms for him, like before, and then he fired!

...

Duke waited by the door into the loading bay for the group, and Josh ran up and opened it for him. Not wanting Duke to knock it down and leave them open to more ferals attacks.

Everyone ran through bar Preston, who waited by the door, and Codsworth who was still halfway between Nate and the door to the loading bay. Neither wanting to go until Nate was safe.

They both heard Nate unload a hailstorm of bullets from his gun, and letting out an angry scream of rage!

Codsworth and Preston looked at one another and were both about to go back to help him, when Nate himself came running down and yelled at them to get through that door!

Racing through the door, Nate slammed it shut behind him, everyone now took a moment to catch their breath and relax for a moment.

Or so they thought...

"Oh, fucking shit! Agh! Die you fuckin-Wha?! Wha...Josh?! An- _Anthony ?!_ **_PRE_ - _PRESTON?!_** " a females voice shouted from the corner of the room.

The group turned to look in the direction of the voice, and saw a short-haired woman who must've been around about Preston's age, holding a laser musket towards them.

"Emma?!" Josh yelled, in a mix of shock, confusion, and most of all, relief.

"Josh! What the hell happened to you guys ?! And Preston?! When the hell did you get here ? And-and who are these other guys ?" she quickly asked.

"Thank god you're alright too, Emma. It's fucking great to see you again, and to see you alive and well! And hey, uh...look, we'll save the proper reunion and the explanations for everything later, but right now we all need to get the hell outta here!" Preston quickly responded.

Emma was suddenly jump-scared by a sudden loud bang against the closed door the group had just came through, accompanied by more growling and gurgling noises. The ferals were at the door and were trying to get in.

"Shit, we gotta get out of here!" Preston repeated. He turned and looked at the closed garage doors, and then at the terminal next to them. He looked at Josh and then back at Emma. "Please tell me yous know the password to that terminal. Otherwise this is gonna be a tough fight."

Josh piped up first. "Yeah, yeah i got it." He said as he walked over to the terminal.

"Preston! Hey, could you and these new guys give me a hand here ?" Emma asked.

"Yeah sure, why ?"

The group watched as Emma knelt down and pulled a young woman from behind some crates up off the ground, wrapping her arm around the woman's waist. "Her name's Sarah. She was one of the Quincy refugees, and she found me half an hour after i came down here. She was lucky to escape those ferals when she did, and said she'd been hiding since yous were attacked and had fled. But she was attacked pretty badly by one of them before she hid, and now she can't walk normally because of it. Can one of you help me with her please ?"

"Sure thing, ma'am. Let me help ya." Nate said, walking over to them.

As he knelt down next to Emma, she asked. "What's your name, Vault-boy ?"

"Nate, ma'am."

"And how'd you join up with Preston ?" she asked as Nate wrapped Sarah's free arm around his neck.

"Helped him fight off some raiders in Concord. Then we came here to take out the raiders up in the factory, but one thing led to another and we were forced in here."

"Oh...well that was mighty kind of you, if not a little suicidal." Emma replied.

At this point the banging and screaming from the ferals became even more ferocious and angry.

Staring at the door in slight fear, Emma called over to Josh - "Josh ? Please tell me you've got that terminal unlocked and that the door will open any second..."

"Agh, dammit. I'm working on it, Em!" Josh called back. "This damn thing took forever just to boot up, and it's being really unresponsive here! I'm going as fast as it'll let me! Okay ?!"

"Well go faster!" she snapped back.

Duke stood by the door, and looked as though he was ready for a fight. Likely intending to use his suit to beat as many to death as he could to buy more time for the group, if need be.

Preston put Anthony down near the garage doors and raised his musket up a little higher, seemingly preparing for the possibility of the ferals breaking in too, cranking the lever and letting his musket hum to life again, accompanying the sounds of the hungry ferals and the clicks of Josh typing on the buttons on the keyboard.

The terminal then made a certain beeping sound, one that indicated an incorrect password had been inserted.

"Oh, you slow piece of shit!" Josh yelled.

"Josh!" Emma barked, becoming really concerned for their safety.

"Stupid thing wouldn't register what i was typing, and then when i press the wrong keys it suddenly decides to work! I've only got two attempts left to get the password in or it'll lock me out!"

"Well be patient with it then, cause we need out of here! Like right now!" Emma barked at him.

At this point everyone was getting worried and agitated beyond belief. Nate, now even raised his M16 towards the door. "Just to be safe." He told himself.

There was a different sounding beep that came from the terminal, followed by Josh screaming out "Finally! Thank fucking god! Alright, i got it guys! Let it load up the commands and we'll be outta here!"

"Oh, phew! Good work, Josh!" Emma yelled over, sounding less pissed now.

About a minute later, the garage doors started to creak open and raise up.

"Alright, everyone over here!" Josh yelled out.

Once the doors were about halfway up the group started to move under them. Josh went under first and then turned back and grabbed Anthony's collar, dragging him out under the doors after him. Then Nate and Emma passed Sarah down to him and got her out next. And then Dogmeat rolled under playfully and then he was followed by the rest of the group.

With the garage doors almost fully open, Josh moved to the outside terminal and re-entered the password on this one. Luckily however, this one wasn't slow and unresponsive.

"It'd be a damn foolish move to leave these doors open and let these ferals come our right after us, or any other person for that matter. Won't risk that, no sir." Josh said, explaining himself, though he didn't really need to...he just felt like he should.

As he input the password the garage doors came to a sudden halt, and took a few seconds to start closing back down.

"C'mon! C'mon! That door ain't gonna hold those feral bastards much longer!" Josh muttered, as he watched the doors closing in slight fear, like the others.

As they doors were half-way down the group heard a loud bang and the metal door slam against the wall! The ferals were in the loading bay!

"Shit! C'mon doors, hurry it up!" Josh seemed to beg.

"We might have company..." Preston warned to group. "Hold off any that try and get under the doors!"

As the group listened to the growls and screams from the other side, they waited...waited for something to happen to throw them into action...and then **BANG!**

A feral slammed itself right into the garage door and by the sounds of it, they were all starting to scratch and claw away at it!

Preston and the other Minutemen watched the bottom of the floor for any ferals that may try and climb under the doors to get to them! Nothing yet...Until a withered, and rotted hand suddenly shot out from under the door at their feet! And then another appeared! And another! The arms were stopping the garage doors from closing fully and that was a problem!

Codsworth instantly got to work, and quickly severed the grabbing arms off in a few swift strikes, finally allowing the doors to close fully and seal the ferals inside. Allowing the group a moments peace.

As everyone stopped to catch their breath and collect themselves, Preston spoke out and reminded everyone - "Those bastards can still climb out of windows or find an alternate route outta there, we need to head out of town now before we can properly rest! That's our safest play in my opinion."

Everyone seemed to agree with that and they all started walking away from the feral infested Super-Duper Mart and out of Lexington as a whole, and soon they were finally feeling safe being out of that damn town, at long last.

...

Now, as they slowly circled around the outskirts of town, making sure that they were absolutely out of view from both raiders and ferals prying eyes as they headed towards the sewer entrance on the other end of the town.

As they walked Nate looked over the newest members of their group, examining their conditions.

Josh was shaken quite badly by his experience at the Super-Duper Mart, but he was alive and looked mostly uninjured of them all, in all honesty.

Anthony, well...he was another story however, as due to his injuries he wouldn't even be able to stand on his own. Never mind fight off anything, or anyone...

The young Quincy refugee, Sarah, was very quiet. She hadn't said a single word yet...she was holding her shoulder, and looked like she had a sprained ankle. No telling how she'd react to anymore ferals, or any raiders now that Nate thought about it. No, she was in too bad a state, mentally, to fight either. What this girl needed was rest and comfort.

Lastly, onto Emma. She had a torn shirt, and a slight limp, but she wasn't letting that slow her down one bit surprisingly. And she could still fight. Even though it was a small boost, this atleast gave Nate's group a higher chance of taking out those raiders in the Corvega plant, if the Minutemen they'd saved wanted any part of it that was.

Nate had been evaluating their current state to determine their combat effectiveness. Because truth be told, he'd really appreciate an extra gun or two in the fight against the raiders in the factory. But he absolutely would not force these good, honest people into a fight they didn't want to be a part of. But he would consult Preston about it, and then ask them what they wanted to do.

As he turned to look at him, Nate noticed that Preston was busy explaining everything to Josh and Emma that had happened to him and the other refugees since they last saw one another. So Nate figured he should give them a few more minutes to catch up.

...

Having now circled all the way around the town to the east and finally nearing the sewer entrance next to the old bus station, Nate walked over to the Minutemen.

"-And once we'd heard what those bastards, who were just a small portion of the Lexington group here, had done to his children, well...we knew we had to come here and use our experience to try and take out these drugged up monsters. On the way here we helped defuse a possibly fatal encounter between two traders, and met Duke. Once we got into town, a feral horde forced us to hide in the Super-Duper Mart, and well...you guys know the rest." Preston finished telling his comrades, as he brought them up to speed on everything.

Emma turned and looked at Nate. "You did all this, even though you could've walked away and not gotten involved ?"

Nate looked over at Preston, and then looked off into the distance and inhaled heavily. "I was a soldier, ma'am. For a long time. I saw what happened to innocents when you just stood by and did nothing...I told myself, from then onward that i won't be the type of person who does nothing anymore."

"Damn. Wish we could have had more people like you in the minutemen instead of all the pricks that abandoned us, or turned on us. You're a good man, sir." Emma told him.

"Thanks, ma'am."

Emma snickered. "Call me Emma already, ya doofus."

That brought a small grin to Nate's face.

"Sir! We've located the sewer entrance you and Mr. Garvey were searching for!" Codsworth called out, hovering near the old bus station.

"Excellent. Alright guys, Preston and i are gonna head over to the sewer entrance by the wall there, and then you guys can-"

Emma cut him off quickly - "Preston already filled us in on this plan you two have, and he already asked us if we wanna sit it out, and we've made our choice. Josh is gonna stay here with Anthony and Sarah, being that he's in better shape to defend them."

"And you want to come along and help us, correct ?" Nate asked.

"Bingo!"

"You know the odds are against us in there, right ?" Nate reminded her.

"I know. But with you, Preston, Duke and yer mister handy there, i reckon we still stand a good enough chance against them all, if we're smart. Besides, i despise fucking rapists. Killing them will be a treat."

Nate gave a smile. "Agreed."

Calling Dogmeat over and kneeling down to pat him, Nate spoke to the good boy. "Alright buddy, i want you to stay here with these guys until we get back, okay ? It's too dangerous for you in there with all those tight corners. So stay here and protect these guys, and let them know if there's trouble nearby. Okay ?"

Dogmeat whined sadly at first, but quickly perked up and gave Nate a reassuring woof!

"Good boy!" Nate said rubbing the dogs head. "We'll be back before you know it."

"Well, best of luck to you guys! Take care in there, y'hear ?" Josh said to everyone as he picked up Anthony and began to carry him into the empty bus station across the street with Sarah and Dogmeat following closely behind.

Duke, using the strength of his Power Armor, ripped the door open and lead the group into the sewer tunnel, muttering as he switched his headlamp on - "My ride's gonna need a serious scrub-a-dub-dub once we're done here."

The others had to stifle a laugh, whilst also instantly having to hold their noses at the horrid smell they'd just started walking through.

"There any chance there's any ferals in here Preston ?" Nate asked as the thought crossed his mind randomly.

"Don't you dare even say things like that!" Emma practically hissed, in a semi-joking tone.

"What Emma said man, don't even try and jinx that shit..." Preston said, replying to Nate's serious question. "But honestly, nah i doubt it. That gate was shut tight, so i think we're good man."

"Heh-heh...you mean you hope..." Nate joked.

"Man, i swear if y-" Preston stopped himself. "No, no. I'm not gonna get into this. I'm good." he told himself, holding back a laugh.

As the minutes passed, and the group had turned many corners and ascended a few levels of pipes that led upwards. Still following Duke through the dark, smelly, wet sewer pipe...

"Surely we should be right underneath one of the rooms in the factory by now ? So now we just need to find an opening somewhere." Emma commented.

Funnily enough, after she said all of that, Duke himself finally came to a stop.

"What's up, Duke ?" Preston curiously asked him from behind.

"We seem to have a ladder leading up, possibly into a room inside the lower levels of the factory." Duke replied, turning his headlamp to brighten the ladder, and looking up, revealing it was a very high rising ladder.

"It's that or keep walking through this shit..." Nate pointed out.

"I'm with Nate. I don't care what's up there, i don't wanna spend another minute down here." Emma added.

"Even if it's a pet Deathclaw they hid in the lower levels ?" Preston joked.

Emma deadpanned. "Even if they somehow have a tame, pet Deathclaw dressed in a damn maid's outfit, i'd take that over this."

"Fair enough. Alright...i'll go first." Preston decided.

"No arguments here, just be careful...and hurry up that ladder, i don't wanna keep smelling like this." Nate commented.

Preston grinned and started to climb the ladder. Nate followed after, who was followed by Emma. And Codsworth used his jet propulsion and his pincer to help him ascend the ladder. Duke went last, just incase his power armor broke the ladder with the sheer weight of it.

Reaching the top first, Preston hit the grate at the top with enough force to loosen it, and started moving it aside. He poked his head up and looked around. Startled when he heard gasps and muffled sobs. He turned his body fully around and let out a gasp when he saw the sight before him.

"Preston ? What is it ?" Nate asked from bellow. But he got no answer as Preston climbed up and out of the manhole without another word.

"Damn it, man!" Nate whispered as he climbed and hauled himself out without first looking around like Preston had.

When he rose up fully and looked for Preston, he saw him standing over by a large group of people, and that's when he too gasped at what they'd stumbled across.

 _ **Slaves!**_

At least fifty or so Slaves...all chained up, or handcuffed. All beaten and bruised, or cut and bleeding. And all in pain, both physically or mentally, and they were all looking at him with pleading, begging eyes, and saddened, broken expressions.

Nate even spotted that 'Drugged up Raider-looking girl' from Concord who'd hit on him - Kitee.

He thought that was her name anyways, wasn't it ? But what he saw was that she was in a way worse state than the rest of them, and looked somehwhat...regretful now.

There was only one appropriate response.

"Ho-Lee Shit..."


End file.
